Factors Influencing Homelessness in Women Debra Gay Anderson, Ph.D., R.N.C., and Mary Kay Rayens, Ph.D. Abstract The specific aims of the article were to: (i) compare childhood experiences of intimacy and autonomy as they occurred in the families of origin of women who have and women who have not experienced homelessness; (ii) compare social support, reciprocity, and conflict as they occurred in the childhood support networks and in the current support net- works of women who have and women who have not experi- enced homelessness; (iii) examine the relationships between intimacy and autonomy in families of origin and the social support networks from childhood of women who have and women who have not experienced homelessness. Descriptive correlational design: 255 women were interviewed to determine levels of intimacy, autonomy, social support, reciprocity, and conflict in childhood relationships. The ANCOVA models for each of support, reciprocity, and conflict indicated a significant group effect. The post-hoc analysis for support indicated that the homeless group was significantly lower in support and reciprocity and significantly higher in conflict than the never- homeless groups. The never-homeless, never-abused group scored significantly higher on autonomy and intimacy than the homeless or the never-homeless, abused groups. This study demonstrates the significance of families of origin and learning how to develop and utilize support systems in preventing or reducing homelessness. Key words: abuse, autonomy, conflict, homeless, intimacy, reciprocity, social support, women. The purpose of this study was to investigate the families of origin and early social support systems of women who have experienced homelessness. Homelessness is a com- plex, multifaceted problem facing the health and social systems in the United States. The homeless population continues to grow despite social programs, federal and state assistance to cities, and health and social research designed to decrease the numbers. Recent estimates of homelessness in the United States suggest that 760,000 people are homeless on any given night and 1.2–2 million people experience homelessness each year (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 1996). An esti- mated 7 million people experienced homelessness in the latter half of the 1980s, and 6.5% of adults nationwide (12 million adults) have been homeless at some point in their lives (Interagency Council on the Homeless, 1994; Link et al., 1994, 1995). People become and remain home- less due to both macrolevel factors (poverty, low-wage jobs, welfare reform, lack of affordable housing, and lack of health insurance) and microlevel factors (domestic violence, mental illness, and substance abuse). This article addresses microlevel factors in the context of women who become homeless. The fastest growing segment of the homeless popula- tion in the United States is families, with women heading 90% of these families. Many women become homeless because of violence experienced in a current relationship. Studies of homeless women reveal childhood histories of abuse and subsequent lifetime patterns of abuse. Abuse alone is not a predictor of homelessness. It, however, may Debra Gay Anderson is Associate Professor, College of Nursing, Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky. Mary Kay Rayens is Associate Professor, University of Kentucky Colleges of Nursing and Medicine and School of Public Health and Associate Director, Biostatistics Consulting Unit, Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky. Address correspondence to Debra Gay Anderson, College of Nursing, Chandler Medical Center, 315 College of Nursing Building, 760 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40536-0232. E-mail: danders@pop.uky.edu Public Health Nursing Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 12–23 0737-1209/04 # Blackwell Publishing, Inc. 12