Experiencing Homelessness as Girls: Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty and Early Onset of Homelessness among Women Experiencing Homelessness

Abstract

The article examines different issues that disproportionately affect women who experience homelessness before the age of 18. The sample consisted of women experiencing homelessness (n = 292) across four Spanish-speaking countries with varying income levels: Spain (n = 136), Argentina (n = 72), Puerto Rico (n = 54) and Nicaragua (n = 30). Information was collected through structured interviews to ensure data homogeneity and to reduce the risk of miscommunication due to potential reading or comprehension challenges among women experiencing homelessness. Results show that women interviewed who first experienced homelessness before the age of 18 were exposed to a higher number of stressful life events during their childhood and adolescence, were more involved in maladaptive and victimizing environments throughout their life and had experienced homelessness for longer periods of time. The percentage of women who first experienced homelessness before the age of 18 was notably high in Nicaragua and Argentina. The significant income inequalities across the four countries, which translate into differences in the implementation of social protection mechanisms, may account for the higher percentage of women who experience homelessness during childhood and adolescence. Exposure to different stressful life events during childhood and adolescence, as well as the cumulative number of such events, seems to predict homelessness before the age of 18. Moreover, women who first experienced homelessness before the age of 18 were more likely to face stressful life events in adulthood and to remain homeless for extended periods.