The research is based on the youth homelessness in the United Kingdom. The current statistics show that there are about one in every youth in the country that is bound to experience homelessness in their life in the United Kingdom. The research seeks to determine the validity of this statistics. The most affected group are the young people between the age of 18 to 25 years which make up about 25% of the total number of people estimated to be homeless (Toro, 1999).
This age group is susceptible to emotional, social and physical problems and the homeless group is the most affected. Despite this group forming a significant number of the UK population, there are not well set strategies by the government to alleviate this situation. There is very small research done on the homeless adolescent youth in the nation. This group has been neglected by many researchers in this area.
Researchers have however centered on the myriads of problems that the homeless youths face in their day to day lives. The study done on the mental states of the young people showed that the homeless groups have a higher percentage compared to the youths that are raised in home settings. About two-thirds of the young people who are considered homeless are diagnosed with mental health problems (Craig and Hodson, 2000).
This is way much compared to only a quarter of the home reared young people who are diagnosed with mental issues. Among the social problems that the homeless young people experience include substance abuse, sexual abuse, and substance abuse and fragmented family background. This problem is further compounded by the fact that this group does not have a supporting social network that would help them overcome the challenges.
For this study, about forty-five residents were used as participants for the research. Twenty one of them agreed to take part. The others gave various reasons for not wanting to participate. This group was valid for the research since they were between 16 and 25 and came from the homeless hostels in London. Interview was used as the study method to get the information the people who are directly affected. The research question was whether the relationship between the homeless youths and the staffs at the homes related to each other and how this was helpful for the youths. This was a qualitative research method. The evaluation of this method reveals a clear validity of the research since it seeks to determine the experience that arise from the relationship.
Annotated Bibliography
Craig, T. K. J. & Hodson, S. (2000). Homeless youth in London: II. Accommodation, employment and health outcomes at 1 year. Psychological Medicine, 30, 187–194.
This reference is helpful for the research in determining the rate of employment or unemployment of the youth in London. The relationship between the homelessness and the mental or health effects of this case.
Willig, C. (2001). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in theory and method. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
The book is the guide on how to conduct and evaluate the qualitative research in the field of psychology. The research would use the knowledge to carry put the study and to conduct the evaluation and analysis of the data.
Toro, P. A. (1999). Advances in research on homelessness: An overview of the special issue. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 115–117.
This is a journal article that focusses on the data statistics and the research on the problem of homelessness in the community. It is relevant for this study because of the data used in the research.
