Homeless Girls: A Sociocultural Group Analysis

Homeless girls are a sociocultural group that includes those who have abandoned their home and those at risk of homelessness. They have to cope with hazardous situations that negatively impact their well-being because they grow up in dysfunctional family environments, in communities immersed in social problems, and in precarious economic areas, leading to few or null opportunities of obtaining a better quality of life (Castaños, 2014). Also, they suffer from sexual and labor exploitation, abuse, and discrimination at a higher rate than the rest of the population (Misganaw & Worku, 2013). As such, they have a low self-concept and self-esteem, they lack self-efficacy and emotion regulation skills, and they exhibit internalizing and externalizing
disorders. However, they rarely receive proper care since the majority does not have access to health care centers or are even denied attention (Merscham, Van-Leeuwen & McGuire, 2009). Subsequently, they have a poor psychological adjustment (Votta & Farrell, 2009), which affects their ability to functionally adapt and cope with environmental stressors (Elegbeleye, 2013), thus diminishing their well-being and quality of life (Oppong, Meyer-Weitz & Petersen, 2015). Therefore, the phenomenon increases leading to the socioeconomic, educational, labor, and cultural backwardness of a country, what results in indirect and direct costs to society in terms of resources and efforts (Xie, Sen & Foster, 2014). Although it is an overwhelming reality, previous studies with similar groups have focused mainly on socioeconomic, and cultural matters, as well as risk behaviors, dismissing the relevance of psychological aspects and mental health (Saddicha, Linden & Reinhardt-Krausz, 2014).