Background and Purpose. For many individuals experiencing homelessness, formal employment is paramount to housing stability. Women represent one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population; however, there are no recent studies on employment for women unaccompanied by children while experiencing homelessness. Research has established barriers to employment faced by women experiencing homelessness, such as domestic violence, substance use, and mental illness; however, these studies focus on women accompanied by children. This dissertation addresses the following research question: What factors influence employment status among unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness? Methodology. I used mixed methodology to address the research question, comparing findings from secondary data analysis to qualitative interviews. First, I used a cross-sectional sample of 1,331 unaccompanied women in one city’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). I used logistic regression to assess the impact age, race, domestic violence, homeless episodes, mental illness, substance abuse, and physical health had on employment status. Next, I completed twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a subsample of unaccompanied women recruited from emergency or transitional housing in the area. Interviews focused on women’s experiences in employment and their biggest perceived barriers to finding or maintaining employment while homeless. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically using NVivo11 software. Finally, I organized barriers identified in the qualitative interviews in a content analysis and compared the results to the logistic regression. Findings. None of the variables reached statistical significance in the logistic regression. Qualitative analysis showed that women generally had limited formal employment experience, based their future employment plans on previous employment experiences, and were in a holding pattern between training programs and limited employment opportunities. Women reported differing perceptions about barriers to employment, but the majority of women did mention the same four barriers: stigma against homelessness, transportation, physical health, and being presentable for job activities. While many interview participants disclosed histories of substance use, mental illness, and domestic violence, most women reported these factors did not directly affect employment, although women reported these factors did contribute to homelessness. Physical health was the only barrier included in the regression model and identified by women in interviews as a top barrier to work, however it was not statistically significant in the regression model. Conclusion and Implications. While the quantitative findings did not reach statistical significance, the comparison of the quantitative and qualitative results indicated important areas for future research and data collection efforts, such as measures for new measures employment and further research on the relationship between physical health and employment. The qualitative findings support the available literature regarding the importance of stigma, transportation, and physical presentation among unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. Physical health may be an important personal-level barrier to employment for unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness, particularly when it comes to seeking full time employment. Implications for practice and policy include community stigma reduction, interventions development to increase formal employment in skilled positions, and modifying housing program policies to reduce burden on women with employment. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / June 29, 2017. / employment, homelessness, mixed methodology, women / Includes bibliographical references. / Melissa Radey, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lenore McWey, University Representative; Jean Munn, Committee Member; Dina Wilke, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_552070 |
| Contributors | Groton, Danielle Bryanne (authoraut), Radey, Melissa (professor directing dissertation), McWey, Lenore M. (university representative), Munn, Jean C. (committee member), Wilke, Dina J. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Social Work (degree granting college), College of Social Work (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (113 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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