The correlation between homelessness and child development

Abstract

Although the United States is a first world country, there is still a concern about homelessness among today’s youth and the consequences that may come from it. The most prevalent group of those that are homeless continues to be families with children, and it is still growing. Is there a correlation between child development and child homelessness? This adverse experience affects all areas of children’s development including physical, cognitive, and psychosocial, and those consequences are likely to follow them through life. The goal of this research is to explore the different developmental delays a child who is homeless may have and the different adverse experiences that might be a risk factor for it. Using keywords like child development and homelessness in different databases, a literature search was conducted to identify the research already available about child development and homelessness. Research has shown that children who are homeless are more likely to have a physical disability of some kind, as well as test academically below their peers who are not homeless. Some research has focused on the psychosocial domain which has shown children who are homeless may lack that social connection because of instability, and in turn alienates them from the rest of their peers. This has been a trend amongst most research with some not acknowledging the room for resilience which is prevalent in children. However, children who experience homelessness are more likely to have a delay in one or more developmental domains.