Abstract
Resilience is a factor related to positive health outcomes. Exploring this concept among adults experiencing homelessness can inform interventions while subsequently considering individuals’ strengths. A phenomenographic approach was applied to examine this concept among a sample of 22 individuals involved in qualitative interviews. The phenomenographic inquiry identified eight conceptions and found resilience is captured in both positive and negative ways. Conceptions are summarized by two categories, situated in an outcome space which describes the overall resilience experience and the different ways these conceptions are understood and experienced. Categories summarize conceptions as Staying Strong and Sustaining Positive Beliefs, which highlight the construct as being captured by a persistent positive aspect; however, the findings also uniquely describe the influence of negative conceptions toward the overall phenomenon. The findings suggest resilience is recognizable during adversity, and it is a phenomenon that has the potential to be strengthened.
Resilience is commonly understood as an ability to adapt positively, maintain or regain mental strength despite adversity (Herrman et al., 2011). It is generally considered part of a mental toughness that enables one to thrive in demanding situations (Gucciardi, Hanton, Gordon, Mallett, & Temby, 2015). Resilience is a concept that is also related to the concept of hardiness or an ability to endure difficult conditions (Earvolino-Ramirez, 2007) and a “bouncing back” (p. 34) after strain (Rew, Taylor-Seehafer, Thomas, & Yockey, 2001). It has also been considered a source of strength or a health protective factor (Pearce et al., 2015; Singer & Ryff, 2001) that has been found to influence future orientations and health-related outcomes (Hatala et al., 2017).
According to the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, 235,000 people experience homelessness each year in Canada (Gaetz, Dej, Richter, & Redman, 2016), and the complexity of this issue has implications for understanding the health needs of this population (Wise & Phillips, 2013). While homelessness is typically seen as a manifestation of a greater systemic problem that needs attention, exploring the concept of resilience among homeless individuals can provide important information. Despite numerous discussions surrounding resilience as a mechanism that enables one to positively cope with trauma or stress, many authors agree that the concept itself is particularly difficult to operationalize (Herrman et al., 2011; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000), and it has been critiqued as being imprecise or vague (Herrman et al., 2011; Smith, Tooley, Christopher, & Kay, 2010).
Among homeless youth in New York and Toronto, resilience is a concept that is understood as a coping strategy or an adaptive process to the stresses encountered living on the streets (Kidd & Davidson, 2010; Thompson et al., 2016). Rew et al. (2001) describe resilience in homeless youth as representing a type of self-reliance, where energy is directed toward taking care of oneself independently despite lack of support or resources. They describe it as an adaptive strategy, particularly against “the feelings of disconnectedness, loneliness, and hopelessness” (p. 38), and suggest greater perceived resilience can lead to better mental health. Davydov, Stewart, Ritchie, and Chaudieu (2010) describe the term as a defense mechanism which enables an individual to succeed in the face of adversity. In addition, Dang (2014) found that resilience might include factors such as social connectedness and self-esteem that act to protect homeless youth against mental illness. Much of the literature connecting resilience, homelessness, and health concentrates on young adults or youth and largely neglects adults (Werner & Johnson, 2002), particularly adults living in poverty. Studies involving adults have discussed resilience as it relates to their mental health, grief, or experiences of trauma (e.g., Davydov et al., 2010; Hendrickson et al., 2018; Herrman et al., 2011; Scali et al., 2012). In addition, this phenomenon has been explored in specific adult populations such as patients (Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge, & Martinussen, 2003) or undergraduate students (Smith et al., 2010). A systematic review examining this construct among displaced adults found that prolonged displacement had negative effects on resilience and mental illness; however, support through family and communities increased resilience and lowered psychological health problems (Siriwardhana, Ali, Roberts, & Stewart, 2014). Overall, among adults living in poverty, this phenomenon is understudied despite evidence that it is part of a greater survival skill set (Gaetz et al., 2016).
Understanding resilience among adults experiencing homelessness can illuminate how this construct is both defined and operationalized and have implications for future interventions. Although general definitions converge upon the concept as a form of positive adaptation through adversity (Herrman et al., 2011), the resilience experience itself is nonspecific. By examining this concept in homeless populations, one can better understand the factors that contribute to the experience of it—resilience that is driven not just by one dimension of a personality characteristic but is a dynamic process (Luthar et al., 2000). One of the primary goals from research with marginalized populations is to provide a “proper voice to the complex and often contradictory emotions, experiences, understandings and actions” (Cloke, Jon, & Johnsen, 2010, p. 18), which is the intent of this research. Interpretative research can improve our understanding of this construct by bringing more awareness toward the lived experience of participants (Ungar, 2003). Using a phenomenographic approach, this article aims to explore the different ways individuals who are homeless or vulnerably housed experience and understand the concept of resilience. We present the findings from a longitudinal investigation, in which a qualitative interview was part of the final follow-up interview; herein, resilience emerged from the data and was expressed in qualitatively different ways.
Method
Within the Hwang et al. (2011) study, an interesting observation was made in data from participants in Vancouver, Canada. During semi-structured interviews exploring participants’ health and housing status, participants repeatedly articulated statements that framed their experiences of life challenges with positivity and forward movement. These statements provoked the examination of the concept of resilience using a phenomenographic approach. Phenomenography is an approach that evolved to describe how people make sense of the phenomena that surround them and how conceptions are used to describe the phenomena (Svensson, 1997). It is an approach that emphasizes collective meaning (Barnard, McCosker, & Gerber, 1999). Phenomenography seeks a range of understandings to capture the various ways phenomena may be collectively conceptualized, and it is these variations in conceptions which lead to discernment and meaning (Marton & Pong, 2005). Phenomenography draws on variation theory, which highlights aspects of the structure of our awareness, recognizes that everyone understands phenomena differently, and adopts the view that “knowing is a way of seeing” (Lo, 2012, p. 31). A goal of phenomenography is to explain qualitatively the content of one’s thinking and ultimately to describe the different ways that the phenomena are experienced (Barnard & Gerber, 1999). This approach enabled us to investigate how resilience is experienced in the context of homelessness, with the different ways individuals experience the phenomena as the object of research (cf. Marton, 1981).
Participants
A qualitative investigation was conducted with a subsample of participants from Hwang et al. (2011), which aimed to assess the impact of housing transitions on health. The current study describes data from this subsample of 22 adults (mean age: 46 years; age range: 30-62 years) who were recruited in Vancouver, Canada. At the time of the interview, three individuals reported being homeless and 19 reported living in vulnerable housing. Among the individuals interviewed, 12 identified as male, nine as female, and 1 as transgender. In addition, over half of the participants (n = 12) identified experiencing one or more mental health conditions in their lifetime. Among the conditions reported, depression/major depression/dysthymia was the most commonly reported (n = 7) followed by generalized anxiety disorder (n = 3), bipolar disorder (n = 2), post-traumatic stress disorder (n = 2), personality disorder (n = 2), and panic disorder (n = 1). One participant was nonspecific, and another participant reported “other.”
Participants were considered homeless if they were currently living in a shelter, public place, vehicle, abandoned building, or someone else’s place and did not have their own place. Furthermore, participants were considered vulnerably housed if they reported living in their own room, apartment, or place and had been homeless in the past 12 months and/or had two or more moves in the past 12 months. Vulnerably housed also includes individuals living in single room occupancy hotels or rooming houses and who had also been homeless (Hwang et al., 2011).
In this article, the sample consisted of both homeless and vulnerably housed participants. Recruitment of homeless and vulnerably housed adults took place at shelters and meal programs. As explained in Hwang et al. (2011), the number of homeless individuals recruited at meal programs was proportional to the number who slept on the street, and those recruited from shelters were selected based on a random number list. Vulnerably housed individuals were recruited from single room occupancies, as well as meal programs, drop-in centers, and community health centers. To be eligible to participate in the qualitative interviews, participants had to have a minimum of two housing transitions (from homeless to housed, housed to homeless, or moving from one housing situation to another) in the 2 years prior to being recruited for the study.
Individuals living in vulnerable housing often cycle in and out of homelessness (Hwang et al., 2011). Subsequently, in this article, the term “experiencing homelessness” will be used to refer to our entire sample; that is, individuals who are either homeless or vulnerably housed.
Data Collection
Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and as part of the final, fourth follow-up interview from the longitudinal study by Hwang et al. (2011), a subset of participants partook in this one-time-only qualitative interview, which explored how housing and housing quality were linked to health. The questions related to participants’ housing (current and past), their health, their service use, and how housing may have affected their health. In addition, participants were also asked to recall one housing transition in detail and describe how the housing transition was initiated and its impact on the individual. Interviews inquired about housing transitions; however, the majority of participants spoke about the number of transitions they had experienced. Although the content of interviews did not specifically inquire about resilience, the observation of this concept provoked a deeper investigation as conducted in this study.
The interviews were conducted by graduate students and research staff trained in the interview process and questions related to participants’ current housing status, service use, and the impacts to their health. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Participants consented to the interviews and audio-recording and received a US$20 honorarium for their participation. The University of British Columbia Research Ethics Board approved this study.
Data Analysis
Data were analyzed using the matrix construction process (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014). Using this process, two researchers (E.G. and S.S.) first open-coded the data independently using a variety of coding techniques, such as descriptive, in vivo, or emotion codes. To ensure all conceptions of the phenomena of resilience were captured, statements were coded if they pertained to “positive adaptation, or the ability to maintain or regain mental health, despite experiencing adversity” (Herrman et al., 2011, p. 259) and more generally any aspect that described managing hardship and adaptation. Once open coding was completed, both researchers compared interpretations, as well as similarities and differences in the coded statements; these statements were then grouped based on patterns. The patterns were grouped into similar categories or conceptions. Conceptions identified aspects of resilience in varying ways, such as notions that were positive, as well as ones that were nonadaptive or negative. Next, researchers determined second-order categories to summarize the experience of resilience, and an “outcome space” was identified to adequately represent the data (cf. Åkerlind, 2012). The outcome space depicts the way in which the resilience experience was understood by participants and how it may have been experienced differently among participants (Marton & Pong, 2005).
To ensure the various conceptions of resilience were adequately captured, transcripts were read and re-read in an iterative process. As patterns emerged, researchers reviewed and mapped component codes, deliberating the components of each conception till consensus was reached. An audit trail was maintained using memos and notes. Individual memos were kept after each step, as well as after each meeting or discussion to ensure trustworthiness and credibility of findings.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness and credibility of findings was ensured by having two authors (E.G. and S.S.) critically analyze the data and bring reflection and awareness into the analytic process. Authors first independently coded the data and then came together to group and define codes and conceptions. By first independently coding the data, both researchers were able to see how each researcher coded for resilience and ensure reliability. Similar codes were grouped based on sameness, and conceptions were developed. This process enabled researchers to discuss disconfirming or negative cases, which facilitated a thick and rich description of the data (cf. Morse, 2015). It was through this process that both researchers noted the presence of many positive statements, as well as negative statements. Conceptions were evident as codes were grouped. Findings were corroborated by considering the context of the greater transcript, memos, and codes to ensure they were congruent with the data and the conception that they reflected. Both researchers kept memos during the analysis process to ensure reflexivity throughout. Trustworthiness of the findings can be maintained as researchers involved with analysis brought familiarity with the phenomenon and similar but different experiences with homeless adults. The awareness of differences and personal biases strengthen the generalizability of our findings as it compelled each researcher to reflect throughout the research process. Quotes included reflect one particular conception, and when researchers saw overlap, these statements were discussed in detail; relevant sections of the original transcript were re-read to ensure the context and interpretations were accurate. While some statements did overlap at the initial data coding stage, decisions about how data fit with conceptions involved discussions, as well as consideration of the larger context of the transcript. Researchers often moved between codes, conceptions, and transcripts in an iterative process to ensure the context in which statements were made was accurately captured.
Findings
This investigation identified eight conceptions and an outcome space to capture the resilience process (see Figure 1). The conceptions each describe the collective ways resilience is understood and reflect qualitatively different aspects of resilience (Marton, 1986), which are positioned within an outcome space to understand some of the distinctiveness between conceptions, such as “what” and “how” some things are experienced (Larsson & Holmstrom, 2007). The outcome space illustrates how the phenomenon is related to internal and external aspects of the context (Wang & Barnard, 2008); it structures the ways in which resilience was experienced, and these experiences reflect layers upon which the findings were situated.
The outcome space.
Together, the conceptions identified below can be expressed parsimoniously and within the outcome space of resilience with two second-order categories: Staying Strong and Sustaining Positive Beliefs (Figure 1). Primarily, the resilience experience is captured by individuals expressing notions of Staying Strong, which connects Conceptions 1 through 4. Resilience is also captured through the category of Sustaining Positive Beliefs, which connects Conceptions 5 to 8. The contrasting conceptions identified (i.e., Conceptions 4 and 8) highlight the non-dualistic ontological nature that phenomenography espouses (Åkerlind, 2012). Altogether, the different ways resilience is conceptualized by participants are outlined below with eight conceptions.
Ways of Experiencing Resilience
Conception 1: “I’m looking to live.”
This conception is understood as a determination to survive and move on from the challenges that arise from living on the streets or in precarious housing. Individuals were focused on the experience of looking toward the future and also changing what tomorrow looks like. This conception reflects participants describing themselves surviving the moment to see another day, a willingness to see tomorrow.
Participants often spoke about continually trying to survive the challenges they faced as it pertained to their housing situations and health. As one participant described, “Yeah. I feel like someone who keeps trying to cross the road, and every time I do, I get hit by a car. So now I’m looking both ways.” More than living in the moment, individuals expressed a hope of moving forward in the future. Participants often framed attempts to survive in terms of a commitment to maintain fortitude and determination to survive: I don’t give up . . . not giving up, so you know, I’m at a point right now where there’s the light . . . it’s coming back again, and you know, and I fought for myself . . .
Participants also described future goals they wanted to move toward: “I have goals I set, and I want to accomplish them, and I work towards them.” The drive shown among individuals demonstrate a willingness to move forward or change their situation.
Conception 2: “I try looking for the silver lining.”
This conception describes how individuals remained steadfast mentally through obstacles. It also describes participants’ thought processes and outlooks for sustaining strength. This conception was typically seen through the general outlooks or perspectives that participants described. For instance, as one participant states, So, you have to go through those struggles every day, and when you’re homeless you don’t have a lot of really good days. You have days where you’re . . .you get by, compared to what used to be, and you have to change your . . . your barriers and your parameters as to what success is. And those are adjustments that again, some people do well and some people give up.
To remain steadfast through obstacles, participants remained persistent and reminded themselves to stay positive and strong. Participants described phrases they often told themselves, as evidenced by the following descriptions: “Ok. I’m not that bad. Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” or “I was persistent to get out of the slum, and the depression, and the drugs, just the whole thing.” This conception also includes some specific statements about strength, such as when one participant stated, “I don’t know how I had the strength, but I did.” Or when another participant stated, “It made me a stronger person—very, very much stronger person.” These statements demonstrate an insightful quality of participants undergoing challenging circumstances and in the last couple statements display participants’ ability to see changes as improvements and/or being able to overcome particular barriers.
Conception 3: Personal growth and self-knowledge
This conception is understood as knowing oneself and describes how one uses this knowledge to reflect, and strive toward change for themselves or their current situation. It includes participants’ descriptions about their self-development and growth. One participant described their experience with housing transitions and hardship: “I came from a very dark place, so you know, it’s like now being you know, it sounds really cliché but moving from the darkness into the light.” Another participant reflected on challenges they experienced: “I wouldn’t survive that again.” By describing a self-knowledge or insight, one participant described, “. . . I got to the point that I couldn’t handle that anymore after I reached out for so much help and knocked on so many doors.” Despite challenges, one participant also described thinking about self-improvement: “Which, you know, is a real gift on your own self, in saying, how can I make myself better?” Participants displayed a growth and reflexivity as they described difficult transitions or processes they had undergone, yet in all cases individuals were still undergoing significant housing challenges.
Conception 4: “Where I go negative things happen.”
This conception refers to the circle of challenges participants faced and how these challenges contribute to negative thinking, negative feelings, and the ensuing reactions or behaviors that influence one’s actions. Although the majority of statements related to positive adaptation, the statements included here also identify that participants recognized they were enmeshed in adversity and at times could not see a way out. As one participant stated, “when you’re in a situation of struggles like that, all you do is you spend your time in lineups, and you’re going to churches and lining up for hours and you’re feeling like crap. It’s embarrassing standing out there.” Furthermore, a couple participants described how these challenges left them on the brink of more serious, suicidal thoughts: “I was gonna jump off a building” or “Oh, yeah. You get to the point where you’re sitting on a windowsill seven stories in the air and you’re going to jump, you know?” One participant also described feeling “extremely psychologically empty” and a diminishing resolve, “I couldn’t do it,” whereas others expressed pessimism, “I just wallow in my shit.” Although several participants articulated statements that were negative, and in some cases seemingly suicidal, these same participants also articulated positive statements.
Conception 5: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I ended up where I needed to be.”
This conception can be understood as thinking and doing things in a positive manner and finding the positive while adapting to changing circumstances in the present moment. A distinctive feature of this conception is that participants articulated a positive outlook while concurrently describing enduring a difficult experience, which distinguishes this conception from Conception 2 (“I try looking for the silver lining”). This conception is not just about thought processes and outlooks but specifically identifies participants maintaining positive beliefs in the current adversity they were facing. As one participant stated, “The advantage is I’m safe, I’m not cold, I’m not sleeping outside risking my life . . .” One participant described their search for happiness in the constant struggle they faced with housing transitions: So, there’s no, like . . . there’s no relief from it. It’s just . . . it’s a continual treadmill that you’re on. But when I wake up every day I might be broke, but I’m still happy that I’m not homeless.
Another participant described trying to maintain positivity despite challenging health circumstances: And you have to be able to . . . you have to forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made. You make 20 mistakes a day every day, every one of us, and we don’t even know we’re doing it. And then it’s, you know . . . you wake up the next day and try to be positive and work at it again. And it’s hard when you suffer from depression to do that. But you have to forgive yourself, and you have to realize that there are better days and you can get there. And the only way you’re gonna get there is trying to have a positive attitude.
In several instances, participants described their optimism such as this statement: “. . . there’s rays of light in all darkness.” Another participant stated, “I just can’t give up . . .I haven’t given up and I’m not gonna.” Another distinguishing feature of this conception is the tenaciousness that participants displayed.
Conception 6: Feeling gratitude and appreciation
This conception captures being both reflective and thankful for the different experiences one has endured—it is recognizing that things could be worse, but also better. “You don’t forget, you know, what you have. I appreciate every day now” or “It made me appreciate the smaller things, I guess.” Another participant discussed gratitude for their health: “I’m very grateful for my health, and, you know, for, uh, you know, my physical health, my mental health . . .” For one participant, the geography surrounding Vancouver influenced their sense of appreciation: “I was loving the distraction of the mountains and it helped me keep my mind off things that I was powerless to change in the moment, right? Instead of fretting all the time and stuff.” The same participant also explained feeling satisfied but acknowledging that things could still be better: “Well it’s better than it was but not as good as it could be.”
Gratitude was expressed through different perspectives participants considered important or meaningful. For instance, one participant reflected on his or her situation: “Mmhmm. I know I’m a lot luckier than many, many people in Vancouver. I see that outside right now. I’m grateful.” Another participant described a sense of satisfaction and thanks and gratitude in various statements, such as “I could do with much less,” “I’m very grateful,” and also “I’m just thankful.”
Conception 7: “I always had the hope.”
This conception captures individuals’ desire for change and positive outlook for the future. One participant described the slow rate at which things improved but also remaining hopeful throughout: “I never doubted that I would get out, but I just thought it would be a fuck of a lot faster.” Two other participants voiced hopefulness for the future: “I was hopeful things were going to change,” and “I always had the hope that things tomorrow might change.” Another participant described eventually reaching a better destination: “But it’s kind of like, you have to keep jumping through these hoops to kind of hopefully get some sort of rainbow pot of gold at the end.” The continued feelings of hope reflected an unwillingness to give up: “I’m not beyond hope.” Many participants described hope in a variety of temporal ways, that is, remembering a time when they drew on hope in past, holding on to hope for the future, and currently having hope despite whatever difficult situation they were describing. Participants had hope their life would get better and they communicated a belief toward movement in this direction.
Conception 8: Uncertainty and worry about moving forward
This conception describes a fear or doubt of moving forward due to poor health, addiction, or past experiences. In particular, this conception became evident when participants talked about the future (such as tomorrow). The negative situations individuals faced left some expressing a lack of belief in themselves. One participant stated, “Well you feel yourself swirling down the toilet. And you look . . .and again, everybody’s looking at you going, ‘There’s nothing wrong with you. Why are you swirling down the toilet?’” Another participant described feeling unsure about the future: “When there’s nothing to look forward to and there’s no sense of stability, it is very hard to have the hope you need in order to move forward.” Participants also expressed feeling worried or having doubts about their future, such as one participant who stated, “I don’t have any hope in it at all” or “I am still stuck in here. When is this hell going to end?” Many of the statements here demonstrate a hopelessness or cynicism about the future and stand in contrast to Conception 7; however, like Conception 4 participants also articulated statements that demonstrated an optimism of sorts. In some cases, participants who articulated uncertainty also described feeling hopeful.
The Outcome Space
The resilience experience is captured in various ways that reflect how this phenomenon was understood by participants. Figure 1 displays the outcome space, which depicts the hierarchical relationship between participant’s resilience experience, conceptions identified, temporal aspects, and contextual factors. This hierarchy highlights differing levels of complexity and understanding (Barnard et al., 1999), in the ways resilience is experienced and conceived.
The resilience experience can be summarized with the categories of Staying Strong and Sustaining Positive Beliefs. The experience of Staying Strong describes a combined strength that has a temporal quality; it integrates perspectives about one’s past and current situations as well as one’s behavior, and it reflects participants’ overall ability to adapt to difficult situations and continue to move forward. Although Staying Strong captured many positive aspects of enduring and surviving through adversity, it also includes elements that are contrasting but also connected to a fortitude or vigor, as captured in the disconfirmatory conception (Conception 4—“Where I go negative things happen”). Resilience is also experienced as Sustaining Positive Beliefs, and this refers to individuals’ positive thinking, including their hope for the future. Also included in this category is a negative conception (Conception 8—Uncertainty and doubt about moving forward) that reflected moments when participants seemed to lack hope or moments when their beliefs were questioned. Once again, there is a temporal quality that influences these thoughts, from one’s past, present, and future. Sustaining Positive Beliefs also includes gratitude for the difficult experiences one has encountered, their appreciation for these experiences, and displaying a positive attitude.
The outcome space integrates contextual factors that influence and structure the resilience experience for participants. These factors include health, housing status and transition, autonomy, geography, and relationships, which contribute to the overall research findings. These factors represent elements of the resilience experience that were present throughout the interviews at different levels. As interviews were initially aimed to investigate the impact of housing transitions on health, these factors are salient to one’s resilience experience. Another factor that emerged from the data was autonomy, which represented the control, or lack of control participants had over certain aspects of their life. Individuals talked about their sense of control and how it influenced the direction they were headed, as well as their independence. The location in which the study was conducted, Vancouver, Canada, also influenced responses. The topography of this major Canadian city includes mountains and ocean—for some, aspects related to this city landscape were referenced in statements. As well, some participants mentioned relationships with others, such as community workers, partners, and family and friends. Altogether, the complexity of this phenomenon, as highlighted through various conceptions, must be considered within the structure of the outcome space. This structure reflects ways in which the experience links together to become whole (Barnard et al., 1999).
Discussion
The aim of this study is to describe the concept of resilience among individuals who are experiencing homelessness. The resilience experience can be summarized as Staying Strong and Sustaining Positive Beliefs, structured within an outcome space which outlines temporal elements and contextual factors that influence this experience.
Conceptualizing Resilience
Taken together, the conceptions identified illustrate that despite negative conceptions, there is a persistent overarching positive aspect related to how this construct is experienced. Predominantly, resilience is related to a determination to survive and an optimism (i.e., Conception 1—“I’m looking to live” and Conception 5—“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I ended up where I needed to be”). Furthermore, conceptions emerged from individuals who are still in the process of living through adversity. Despite the challenges participants were undergoing, many conceptions illustrated an optimism or wisdom of sorts, particularly when participants spoke of past events and reflected on their struggles (e.g., Conception 7—“I always had the hope”). Overall, findings suggest that individuals experiencing homelessness bring coping strategies, motivation for change, and hope for a better life. These findings share some similarities with trauma survivors; and like trauma survivors homeless adults may not meet strict criteria defining them to be resilient (Lynch, Keasler, Reaves, Channer, & Bukowski, 2007). This is an important consideration as resilience did not emerge among individuals experiencing homelessness as an all-or-nothing phenomenon; it also did not emerge in ways that signify the concept is solely positive. Recognizing the presence of resilience means noticing that it may not present itself at particularly low or high levels, which may afford more opportunities for service providers to intervene and strengthen this capability.
According to Finfgeld-Connett, Bloom, and Johnson (2012), homeless women displaying a mid-level of perceived competency may be better equipped to seek out resources or institute coping strategies to improve their current situation. In addition, certain factors such as health, autonomy, and relationships were also noted by Finfgeld-Connett et al. (2012) as affecting homeless women’s perceived competence. Moreover, Hendrickson et al. (2018) identified aspects such as social supports and relationships as aspects of the resilience process. These comparisons suggest some similarities between homelessness and the resilience experience. Furthermore, the multiple elements emphasize that the phenomenon does not exist in isolation and is linked to other constructs (Hendrickson et al., 2018).
Complexity of Resilience and Links to Other Constructs
Altogether, the various ways resilience is conceptualized, especially its links to other constructs such as perceived competency (Finfgeld-Connett et al., 2012), self-esteem (Kidd, 2008), coping and motivation (Lynch et al., 2007; Rutter, 1999), all suggest this construct is multidimensional. While resilience reflects positive aspects of adaptation to stress, it also reflects the difficulties that coexist (Luthar et al., 2000; Luthar, Doernberger, & Zigler, 1993). By viewing resilience as a multidimensional construct, resilience can be seen as “simultaneously suffering and surviving” (p. 15), and interventions can target different aspects of resilience to foster its capacity (Harvey, 2007). As our findings indicate, the experience of resilience cannot be defined by positive conceptions alone, with negative conceptions also contributing toward the resilience experience. Indeed, as illustrated from our findings, this term includes more than just a positive adaptation to adversity, and this investigation highlights resilience emerging from individuals who are in the process of adversity. All participants were experiencing some degree of homelessness at the time of the interview, and individuals who were identified as vulnerably housed were still in a state of unstable living arrangements. The cyclical nature of challenges, such as substance abuse problems, contributes to moving from homeless and vulnerably housed situations and finding stable housing (Finfgeld-Connett et al., 2012). Furthermore, several individuals in our investigation identified a mental health condition and for individuals who did not, its absence should not be taken as synonymous with positive mental health (Davydov et al., 2010) or an indication they were not experiencing significant duress. The complexity of risks and challenges for individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as mental health challenges or possible substance use, further complicates understanding resilience. Furthermore, the contrasting conceptions identified in our findings resemble opposing perspectives identified by trauma survivors (Harvey, 2007). According to Boydell, Goering, and Morrell-Bellai (2000), although individuals who are homeless often described a devalued sense of self, they also described themselves as resourceful or a survivor. Through identification of these simultaneous divergent perspectives in homeless adults, this research can be applied by increasing awareness about ways in which this phenomenon is conceptualized. We suggest the various conceptions identified as examples of potential opportunities for intervention.
In particular, current views of resilience among vulnerable populations must consider the negative aspects presented in this article to continue building on ways to strengthen this concept and improve health outcomes. Although participants identified many positive statements and optimism, the expression of negative beliefs and uncertainty should not deter service providers from identifying the presence of resilience. Given “resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have [and] involves behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone” (“American Psychological Association [APA],” 2017), this concept has the potential to be strengthened among individuals experiencing homelessness. From statements made by participants, it seems that to have a positive adaptation of sorts, marked by the phenomenon of resilience, there must be a period of questioning or point of wondering if one can move forward, including not being able to move forward. Quite possibly, individuals must optimize the positive conceptualizations of resilience to capitalize on its strengths and reap its benefits, although currently the trajectory of this process is unclear and needs further investigation. As highlighted by Masten (2001), resilience is an ordinary concept and is not made of extraordinary processes; thus, capitalizing on this routine concept may help maximize one’s ability to overcome some of the challenges faced by individuals experiencing homelessness.
Resilience During Adversity Toward Positive Health Outcomes
Common definitions of resilience outline this phenomenon as overcoming adversity, and this article uniquely includes individuals who are in the process of living through adversity. Certainly, the findings highlight resilience is a regular part of human adaptive functioning (cf. Masten, 2001), and with better identification of resilience as it is emerging, service providers can intervene and capitalize on this common process. Resilience can mitigate the risks of adversity; and it is a capability that changes over time and is strengthened by protective factors both within the individual and in the environment (Stewart, Reid, & Mangham, 1997). Homeless youth who perceived themselves as more resilient also felt lower amounts of hopelessness, loneliness, and engaged in less life-threatening behaviors (Rew et al., 2001), and these findings may extend to homeless adults as well. In addition, resilience appears to moderate the effects of depression and trauma exposure (Wingo et al., 2010).
Identifying resilience as it emerges in situ may offer points at which the positive aspects of this concept can be strengthened. As this concept is known to be a protective factor for a variety of vulnerable populations and conditions, such as homeless youth (Kidd, 2008; Rew et al., 2001), abused and neglected children (DuMont, Widom, & Czaja, 2007), as well as mental health challenges (Davidson, Shahar, Lawless, Sells, & Tondora, 2006; Davydov et al., 2010), and loss and trauma (Bonanno, 2004; Hendrickson et al., 2018), identifying resilience with homeless adults has the potential to contribute to positive health outcomes.
By considering this underserved population, this study contributes to the literature on resilience by featuring this capacity individuals experiencing homelessness possess. Rarely has this phenomenon been explored by adults and in the presence of multiple risk factors (Werner & Johnson, 2002). Although resilience is commonly discussed as an ability to overcome adversity, recognizing resilience during adversity can enable service providers, such as health professionals, to better identify and foster its capability.
Strengths and Limitations
A phenomenographic approach was applied during the analysis and was not utilized throughout the interviews, which limits the content of interviews as well as how experiences were described or bracketed during interviews (cf. Marton, 1986). This study did not include questions to explicitly explore resilience in interviews; however, a strength of this study is its grounding in individual’s commentary. The semi-structured nature of interviews enabled this phenomenon to emerge, which highlights ways in which resilience may be defined at the operational level of the construct. While this presents a limitation for the methodology of phenomenography, the ecological perspective we apply enabled an examination of resilience as it emerges in the context of homelessness. Similarly, although exploring differences among individuals with varying histories of homelessness or precarious housing may elicit differences in how the phenomenon of resilience emerges, this difference is among many barriers (health and otherwise) that exist and adds to the complexity of research in this population.
Furthermore, authors considered the fundamental definition of resilience, as identified by Herrman et al. (2011), and any aspect that described managing hardship and adaptation. By expanding this perspective of resilience, researchers captured aspects not solely related to positive adaptation but also other aspects of the context, as defined through the experience articulated by each participant.
Conclusions and Future Directions
A principle of phenomenography is that any phenomenon can be described in a number of different ways with the aim being to both discover and describe a pattern related to different ways of understanding, which are the main outcomes of any phenomenographic study (Röing, Holmström, & Larsson, 2018). As phenomenography draws from variation theory, the different conceptions identify the ways resilience is not just experienced but also the different ways it is understood (cf. Marton, 1986). The conceptions described in this article explain resilience as a process and identify specific conceptions that illustrate how positive and negative conceptions of resilience are experienced by individuals experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is a complex problem that can produce barriers and challenges to the provision of appropriate services. A stronger understanding of the capacities of individuals to endure such challenging circumstances can provide information to support the development of more effective services (Thompson et al., 2016). In clinical contexts, understanding subtle aspects of resilience and how it may present itself in situ provides insight and opportunities for moments when it can be strengthened. Boydell et al. (2000) suggest that interventions need to focus more on the strengths of homeless individuals and suggest this can also better capture one’s motivation. Applying emerging paradigms such as strength-based approaches for treatment and rehabilitation, particularly for individuals with mental illness, could maximize their recovery (Davidson et al., 2006), and including resilience as an aspect of treatment in overcoming homelessness could enhance one’s ability to recover. By recognizing resilience emerging during normal human adaptive processes (Masten, 2001), our findings contribute to the description of this phenomenon and suggest the element of uncertainty or negative thinking should be included as part of its definition.
This research presents numerous opportunities for future research by providing information about resilience in process, during adverse circumstances. There is much more to be discovered about this complex phenomenon, and coupled with the challenges surrounding homelessness, this research identifies important features of resilience to enhance its capabilities and inform future research. Examining whether these findings can apply to other groups, such as patients, is one such consideration. As well, research can expand upon the outcome space identified in this study to better understand how factors like autonomy contribute to this phenomenon.
Importantly, this is the first study to look at resilience in adults experiencing homelessness, which provides insight for how this process is experienced in this population. Contrary to stereotypical views that often frame homeless individuals as “disempowered and disabled” (David & Cohen, 1991, p. 544), this research aims to promote consideration of the strengths of individuals experiencing homelessness in future interventions.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
To all the individuals in our homeless and vulnerably housed communities. You are seen.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by an operating grant (MOP-86765) and an Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement Grant on Homelessness, Housing and Health (HOA-80066) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.