Factors that Affect Loneliness for Male Homeless Population in Rural SC
Poster Number
36
Session Title
Poster Session 2
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Faculty Mentor
Kathleen West, Ph.D.
Abstract
Homelessness and the growing homeless population is a major concern throughout the United States. In this study, it was predicted that homeless men would have higher rates of loneliness if they had less connections within the community. Additionally, it was hypothesized that these community connections, i.e. religion, family, partners, etc., would create a greater sense of belonging in the men. Participants were 15 men from a suburban South Carolina setting. Participants’ ages ranged from 24-65, with an average age of 50.93. Through an in-person survey using two questionnaires, participants’ rates of loneliness and their number of connections within the community were assessed. Each participant was interviewed individually, and his responses were written down by the interviewer. A one-way ANOVA was used to examine the effects of community connections on loneliness. Overall, there were no significant findings related to any of the community connections on the amount of loneliness experienced by the men (p>0.05). Thus, it can be theorized that the amount of connections to others in the homeless men’s community does not necessarily affect their feelings of loneliness. However, when looking specifically at the demographic information, it was found that white men experienced more loneliness than minority men (p=0.04) and that men from the area were less lonely than nonlocal men (p=0.02). As such, it is possible that the results of this study were limited by sample size and COVID-19’s possible effects rather than anything else.
Honors Thesis Committee
Kathleen West, Ph.D.; Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D.; Richard Chacon, Ph.D.; Wendy Sellers, Ph.D.
Course Assignment
HONR 450H - West & HONR 451H - Lipscomb
Type of Presentation
Poster presentation
Factors that Affect Loneliness for Male Homeless Population in Rural SC
Homelessness and the growing homeless population is a major concern throughout the United States. In this study, it was predicted that homeless men would have higher rates of loneliness if they had less connections within the community. Additionally, it was hypothesized that these community connections, i.e. religion, family, partners, etc., would create a greater sense of belonging in the men. Participants were 15 men from a suburban South Carolina setting. Participants’ ages ranged from 24-65, with an average age of 50.93. Through an in-person survey using two questionnaires, participants’ rates of loneliness and their number of connections within the community were assessed. Each participant was interviewed individually, and his responses were written down by the interviewer. A one-way ANOVA was used to examine the effects of community connections on loneliness. Overall, there were no significant findings related to any of the community connections on the amount of loneliness experienced by the men (p>0.05). Thus, it can be theorized that the amount of connections to others in the homeless men’s community does not necessarily affect their feelings of loneliness. However, when looking specifically at the demographic information, it was found that white men experienced more loneliness than minority men (p=0.04) and that men from the area were less lonely than nonlocal men (p=0.02). As such, it is possible that the results of this study were limited by sample size and COVID-19’s possible effects rather than anything else.
