Journal List > J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > v.26(1) > 1058142

TOOLS
Lee and Park: Character Strengths, Physical, and Mental Health Status of the Homeless in Self-reliance Support Facilities
Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2017; 26(1): 67-76.

Published online: 31 March 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2017.26.1.67

Character Strengths, Physical, and Mental Health Status of the Homeless in Self-reliance Support Facilities

Jung Mi Lee, Young Suk Park

Department of Nursing, Korea National Open University, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Park, Young Suk. Department of Nursing, Korea National Open University, 86 Daehak-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul 03087, Korea. Tel: +82-2-3668-4746, Fax: +82-2-3673-4274, anywayyoung@knou.ac.kr

Received 1 December 2016       Revised 31 January 2017       Accepted 20 February 2017

© 2017 The Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate character strengths, physical and mental health status of the homeless.

Methods

Data were collected from November 2014 to March 2016 through the VIA-IS questionnaires and the DESC vulnerability assessment tool. The participants were 120 adultmen living in two self-reliance support facilities for homeless people, located in S city, Korea. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA with SPSS/WIN 23.0 program.

Results

Physical health status of the participants was as following: ‘chronicmedical conditions that were not well-managed or significant physical impairment’ 11.7%, and ‘stable significant medical or physical issues, or chronic medical conditions that were being managed’ 46.7%. The mental health status included mild 23.3%,moderate 11.7%, and seriousmental health issues 4.2%. There were no significant differences in physical health status by signature character groups, while mental health status (F=2.46, p=.038) of the courage group was worse than that of the temperance group.

Conclusion

Findings indicate thatmental health status of homeless people should bemanagedmore appropriately and effective nursing interventions need to be developed using their signature character. However, further research about physical health status by signature character of the homeless is needed.

Keywords: Character, Homeless persons, Health status, Personality

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Demographic Characteristics and Character Strengths of the Subjects (N=120)

jkapmhn-26-67-i001

*Missing value included; †Scheffé test.

Table 2

Characteristics related to Homelessness and Character Strengths of the Subjects (N=120)

jkapmhn-26-67-i002

*Missing value included; †Scheffé test; ‡Professional or technical or self-employed worker.

Table 3

Physical and Mental Health Status of the Subjects (N=120)

jkapmhn-26-67-i003
Table 4

Signature Character and Health Status of the Homeless (N=110)*

jkapmhn-26-67-i004

*The participants were eliminated who belong to more than two types of signature characteristics; †Scheffé test.

Notes

This article is a revision of the first author's master's thesis from Korea National Open University.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declared no conflict of interest.

References

1. Ministry of Health and Welfare. A guide for the homeless-oriented social welfare services 2014. Ministry of Health and Welfare [Internet]. 2014. cited 2015 Oct 25. Available from: http://www.mohw.go.kr/front_new/jb/sjb0406vw.jsp?PAR_MENU_ID=03&MENU_ID=030406&OCNT_SEQ=321857&page=1.
2. Nam KC. The definition and public opinion about the homeless. Dongduk J Life Sci Stud. 2008; 13:33–44.
3. Jeong WO, Nam KC, Min SM, Hyun SO, Jeon YO, Kim BI. A study for improvement of social welfare services and support systems for the homeless. Policy Report. Seoul: Ministry ofHealth andWelfare;2011. 09. ReportNo. 11-1352000 -000316-01.
4. Lee JG. Howmany are the homeless?: National survey results on the homeless 2012. Trend Welf. 2013; 171:31–38.
5. Lee TJ, Noh DM, Nam KC, Jeong WO, Joo YS, Kim SM, et al. Evaluation on policy for the homeless and its improvement plan. Policy Report. Seoul: Korea Institute for Health & Social Affairs;2007. 04. Report No. 2007-77.
6. Yoon HS, Han YR, Song MS. Health behaviors, health status, and utilization patterns of health care institutions for homeless shelter residents: Comparison of younger and oldermale residents. J Korean Public Health Nurs. 2013; 27(3):578–591. DOI: 10.5932/jkphn.2013.27.3.578.
crossref
7. Ahn JH, Hong JP, Yu JC, Park JI, Lee C, Han OS. Epidemiologic study on mental disorders in urban homeless people. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2001; 40(2):193–202.
8. Ministry of Government Legislation. 2015 Act on welfare and support of self-reliance for homeless. National Law Informa-tionCenter [Internet]. 2015. cited 2015Oct 25. Available from: http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=165837&efYd=20141230#0000.
9. Park HS, Lyu SJ. Astudy on the health status among the homeless in shelters. J Korean Community Nurs. 2004; 15(4):655–665.
10. Seo JN, Jeong WO, Lee JM, Seo JH, Lee SM. Astudy on the residential condition of the homeless and its improvement plan. PolicyReport. Seoul: SeoulWelfare Foundation;2010. 12. Report No. SeoulWelfare Foundation 2010-policy-10.
11. Park N, Peterson C, Seligman ME. Greater strengths of character and recovery from illness. J Posit Psychol. 2006; 1(1):17–26. DOI: 10.1080/17439760500372739.
crossref
12. Huta V, Hawley L. Psychological strengths and cognitive vulnerabilities: Are they two ends of the same continuum or do they have independent relationships with well-being and ill-being. J Happiness Stud. 2010; 11(1):71–93. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-008-9123-4.
crossref
13. Patterson A, Tweed R. Escaping homelessness:Anticipated and perceived facilitators. J Community Psychol. 2009; 37(7):846–858. DOI: 10.1002/jcop.20335.
14. Seligman M. IJ Kim . Positive psychology. 1st ed. Anyang: Mulpure;2009. p. 388.
15. Proyer RT, Gander F, Wellenzohn S, Ruch W. What good are character strengths beyond subjective well-being?: The contribution of the good character on self-reported health-oriented behavior, physical fitness, and the subjective health status. J Posit Psychol. 2013; 8(3):222–232. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2013.777767.
crossref
16. Proctor C, Maltby J, Linley PA. Strengths use as a predictor of well-being and health-related quality of life. J Happiness Stud. 2011; 12(1):153–169. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-009-9181-2.
crossref
17. Moon WJ. The influence of the university student's character strengths upon the scholastic achievements and psychology well-being [master's thesis]. Daegu: Keimyung University;2009. 51.
18. Tweed R, Biswas-Diener R, Lehman DR. Self-perceived strengths among peoplewho are homeless. J Posit Psychol. 2012; 7(6):481–492. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2012.719923.
19. Peterson C, Seligman M. Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. 1st ed. England: Oxford University;2004. p. 640.
20. Peterson C, Seligman M. YL Moon IJ Kim HJ Won SY Ahn . Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. 1st ed. Seoul: Korea Psychological Counseling Institute;2009. p. 860. 2004. 640 p.
21. Choi YA. The investigation of homeless life through disease status [master's thesis]. Seoul: YonseiUniversity;2013. 110.
22. Downtown Emergency Service Center. Vulnerability assessment tool for determining eligibility and allocating services and hosing for homeless adults. Northeast Seattle, WA: The University ofWashington;2010. p. 11.
23. Ginzler JA, Monroe-DeVita M. Downtown emergency service center's vulnerability assessment tool for individuals coping with chronic homelessness:Apsychometric analysis. Northeast Seattle,WA: The University ofWashington;2010. p. 8.
24. Park EC. A Study on the improvements of homeless policy in Seoul. Korea Center for City and Environment [Internet]. 2015. cited 2015 Oct 25. Available from: https://www.si.re.kr/sites/default/files/2014-BR-13_.pdf.
25. Park YS. Mental health and nursing. Seoul: KNOUPress;2013. p. 386.
26. Kim SH. The barriers to strategies for the homeless and the future direction. City Poverty. 1988; 32:19–27.
27. Kim MH. Exploring the concept of wisdom and its role on the life amongmiddle-aged and elder adults in Korea [dissertation]. Seoul: Seoul National University;2008. 207.
28. Park EC. Path analysis and agenda setting for the homeless: From the entry to the escape. Seoul: The Seoul Institute;2015. p. 26.
29. Shin JW, Jang HJ, Hyun MH. Stress coping and emotional regulation mediate between character strengths and adjustment. Korean J Stress Res. 2015; 23(3):109–118. DOI: 10.17547/kjsr.2015.23.3.109.
crossref
30. Oh JY. Composition of a positive psychotherapy program for the empowerment of participants in self-support projects, and its effectiveness [dissertation]. Daegu: Daegu University;2011. 115.
TOOLS
Similar articles