How Does Coping Impact Stress, Anxiety, and the Academic and Psychosocial Functioning of Homeless Students?

Abstract

Student homelessness is unfortunately a prevalent and growing issue nation-wide. Current estimates suggest that over one million youth are homeless in the U.S. at any given time and the prevalence of student homelessness continues to increase each year. Research indicates that homeless youth are at a greater risk for high stress and experiencing adverse life events. In turn, they are even more at risk for related psychological and academic impairments. Many homeless youth are impacted by mental health issues, including high levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. Additionally, youth affected by anxiety and stress often experience significant impairments in their academic and psychological functioning. The current study examined the relationship between anxiety and related psychological and academic functioning was positively or negatively impacted by a youth's coping style. In the current study, psychological functioning was defined as the presence of depressive symptoms while academic functioning includes both a sense of school connectedness and current grade point average. Results showed that coping skills do not impact the relationship between anxious homeless youth and their psychosocial and academic outcomes. However, findings suggest that a greater sense of school connectedness is associated with more positive academic and psychosocial outcomes. The study provides better insight for school personnel, psychologists, and mental health workers when providing services and interventions for homeless youth. Specifically, suggestions for further research and recommendations for fostering and implementing a greater sense of school connectedness within the school system are given.