PATHS OUT OF HOMELESSNESS AMONG THE MENTALLY ILL

拟议的纵向研究项目，在一个 生态/资源框架，试图了解条件 在这种情况下，严重精神病患者和其他无家可归者能够 确保并维持稳定的住房(与无家可归者相比)。概率论 将使用抽样方法来获得具有代表性的 布法罗大都会地区无家可归的成年人。范围广泛的地点 将被抽样，包括精神病院，特别项目 无家可归者，食品储藏室和街道，除了避难所 以及施舍厨房，通常包括在过去对无家可归者的研究中。 根据我们的框架，将在三个领域收集数据：个人 属性，包括精神病诊断和背景 特点；个人、社会、经济和服务方面的资源 领域和成果，包括关于以下方面的详细资料 无家可归者和随后的住房特征。数据将 从四个来源获得：无家可归的参与者；两个有意义的 其他，包括至少一名家庭成员；采访者评分；以及 中情局记录。这项研究在现有的 对无家可归者的研究考虑了广泛的社会资源， 包括社会支持、家庭社会氛围和家庭暴力 无家可归和随后的住房稳定性的预测因素。这个 这项研究还包括比目前更长的随访期。 尝试(在两年内进行五次面谈)，并允许进行纵向 无家可归者中各种重要亚群的比较，如 作为严重精神病患者(根据DSM-III-R标准定义 精神分裂症或严重情感障碍)、药物滥用者(亦 根据DSM-III-R标准定义)和无家可归妇女(包括 与孩子)。研究的两个主要目标是：(1)确定 与获得稳定住房相关的因素；以及(2)确定原因 无家可归现象发生的机制。此外，这项研究还 将：(A)提供资料说明一项全面的 无家可归者目前使用的服务范围以及某些 服务的组合可能特别有帮助；(B)比较 几种常用心理健康测评方法的实用价值 无家可归者的状况；和(C)制定研究所需的新措施 无家可归者的特征(例如，评估无家可归的特征和 随后的住房质量)。通过广泛的前期研究， 程序已得到改进，以确保员工的流失率较低 流浪汉样本在本次纵向研究中。

The proposed longitudinal research project, in the context of an ecological/resource framework, attempts to understand the conditions under which the severely mentally ill and other homeless persons are able to secure and maintain stable housing (vs. remain homeless). Probability sampling methods will be used to obtain a representative sample of homeless adults in the Buffalo metropolitan area. A broad range of sites will be sampled, including psychiatric facilities, special programs for the homeless, food pantries, and the streets, in addition to the shelters and soup kitchens commonly included in past research on the homeless. Based on our framework, data will be collected in three domains: Personal Attributes, including psychiatric diagnoses and background characteristics; Resources, in personal, social, economic, and service areas; and Outcomes, including detailed information on the course of homelessness and on subsequent housing characteristics. The data will be obtained from four sources: the homeless participant; two significant others, including at least one family member; interviewer ratings; and agency records. The study is especially distinctive among existing studies on the homeless in considering a wide range of social resources, including social support, family social climate, and family violence as predictors of exiting homelessness and subsequent housing stability. The study also includes a longer follow-up period than has so far been attempted (five interviews over two years) and would allow a longitudinal comparison of a variety of important subgroups among the homeless, such as the severely mentally ill (defined based on DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia or major affective disorder), substance abusers (also defined based on DSM-III-R criteria), and homeless women (including those with children). The two principal research goals are to: (1) Determine factors associated with obtaining stable housing; and (2) Identify causal mechanisms involved in exiting homelessness. In addition, the study will: (a) provide information on the possible effectiveness of a full range of services currently used by the homeless and whether certain combinations of services may be particularly helpful; (b) compare the utility of several commonly used methods for assessing the mental health status of the homeless; and (c) develop new measures needed for the study of homelessness (e.g., to assess characteristics of homelessness and subsequent housing quality). Through extensive preliminary research, procedures have been refined to ensure a low attrition rate among the homeless sample in this longitudinal research.