Article Version of Record

Seeking “home”: Personal narratives and turning points in the lives of adult homeless

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Androutsopoulou, Athena
Stefanou, Maria-Marditsa

Abstract / Description

The way homeless persons construct their self-narratives and shape their identities has recently become the subject of narrative studies in the western world. The present inquiry adopts the theoretical notion that narration is the means by which the self-constructs and re-constructs her identity. This construction is organised around life’s perceived “turning points”. Eight interviews with homeless adults living in Athens, Greece were conducted. The main question guiding the interviews was: “How did you get at the present point in your life?” We focused on their past, present and future, with emphasis on possible turning points. The interviews were combined with a story-line graph which participants believed to be representative of their unfolding lives. The narrative analysis indicated that experiences of homelessness were not marked as turning points per se. Rather, four emerging themes describe other important turning points: repeated loss, (dis)connection, new “home”, freedom. Homeless persons experienced a continuity in hardship and trauma since childhood. However, their experiences, following the loss of home, were not always negative, and they expected the future to be brighter. Discussed are implications for social caring in exploring the deeper meaning of “home”. Particular suggestions are put forward for social and counselling services.

Keyword(s)

homeless narrative construction of self turning points narrative inquiry

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2018-10-31

Journal title

The European Journal of Counselling Psychology

Volume

7

Issue

1

Page numbers

126–147

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Androutsopoulou, A., & Stefanou, M.-M. (2018). Seeking “home”: Personal narratives and turning points in the lives of adult homeless. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 7(1), 126–147. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejcop.v7i1.150
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Androutsopoulou, Athena
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Stefanou, Maria-Marditsa
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-29T07:49:11Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-29T07:49:11Z
  • Date of first publication
    2018-10-31
  • Abstract / Description
    The way homeless persons construct their self-narratives and shape their identities has recently become the subject of narrative studies in the western world. The present inquiry adopts the theoretical notion that narration is the means by which the self-constructs and re-constructs her identity. This construction is organised around life’s perceived “turning points”. Eight interviews with homeless adults living in Athens, Greece were conducted. The main question guiding the interviews was: “How did you get at the present point in your life?” We focused on their past, present and future, with emphasis on possible turning points. The interviews were combined with a story-line graph which participants believed to be representative of their unfolding lives. The narrative analysis indicated that experiences of homelessness were not marked as turning points per se. Rather, four emerging themes describe other important turning points: repeated loss, (dis)connection, new “home”, freedom. Homeless persons experienced a continuity in hardship and trauma since childhood. However, their experiences, following the loss of home, were not always negative, and they expected the future to be brighter. Discussed are implications for social caring in exploring the deeper meaning of “home”. Particular suggestions are put forward for social and counselling services.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Androutsopoulou, A., & Stefanou, M.-M. (2018). Seeking “home”: Personal narratives and turning points in the lives of adult homeless. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 7(1), 126–147. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejcop.v7i1.150
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2195-7614
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1688
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.2054
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ejcop.v7i1.150
  • Keyword(s)
    homeless
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    narrative construction of self
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    turning points
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    narrative inquiry
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Seeking “home”: Personal narratives and turning points in the lives of adult homeless
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    The European Journal of Counselling Psychology
  • Page numbers
    126–147
  • Volume
    7
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record