The relationship between social support and family homelessness: A comparison study of homeless and housed mothers

The present study investigated the nature of social support in the lives of 50 homeless mothers and 50 housed mothers receiving public assistance. It was hypothesized that mothers who do not have strong social networks and the support they provide, or who are more drained by members of their social networks, are at greater risk of becoming homeless than are mothers with large and strongly supportive social networks. The two samples were compared on (a) the size and composition of their social networks; (b) the nature of the support they received (instrumental, emotional, and/or negative); (c) the degree of contact they had with parents and other family members; and (d) their feelings about, or degree of trust in, social relationships. Contrary to expectation, there were no differences between the housed and homeless respondents on any of the social support variables except one: Only network orientation—the degree to which respondents expressed trust in their social networks—significantly distinguished the two groups. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to other recent investigations of the nature of social support in the lives of homeless mothers. It is suggested that social isolation may be more a consequence than a cause of family homelessness.