Annotated Bibliography

Running head: HOMELESSNESS AND THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP 1
Annotated Bibliography
Homelessness and the Parent-Child Relationship: Outcomes and Responses
Taylor J. Panzer
Fall 2015
Bass Connections: Responding to the Educational and Psychological Needs of Children and
Families in Durham’s Transitional Housing
Duke University

HOMELESSNESS AND THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP 2
Bassuk, E. L., Weinreb, L. F., Dawson, R., Perloff, J. N., & Buckner, J. C. (1997). Determinants
of behavior in homeless and low-income housed preschool children. Pediatrics, 100(1), 92-
100.
Bassuk’s study surveyed 167 parents of preschool children who were homeless or came from
a low-income family. All children exhibited behavioral problems related to stress, including
anxiety, depression, and aggressive behavior. The largest predictor of behavioral problems in
children was the mother’s emotional health, supporting the idea that a mother’s mental health
strongly correlates with their child’s adjustment and wellbeing. Other influences on child
behavioral problems included foster care, physical abuse, and the death of a friend. Dr. Ellen
Bassuk is a professor of psychiatry at the Cambridge health Alliance in Cambridge, MA, who
studies the impact of homelessness on mental health. This study is important to note in the
study of homelessness and the parent-child relationship due to the finding that the mother’s
emotional state relates to childhood behavioral problems. This study supports the need for
interventions in the parent-child relationship of homeless mothers and children by outlining
some of the negative effects that homelessness can have on children.
Haskett, M. E., Armstrong, J. M., & Tisdale, J. (2015). Developmental Status and Social–
Emotional Functioning of Young Children Experiencing Homelessness. Early Childhood
Education Journal, 1-7.
The above study focused on understanding homeless children’s social-emotional adjustment
and their language, motor, and cognitive functioning. It was found that homeless children had
developmental scores of overall functioning significantly below the normal range, including
particularly low functioning in language and communication skills. 24.8% of parents also had

significant concerns about their children’s mental health status. These results support the
need for wide-scale screening of all children entering homeless shelters in order to increase
access to early intervention. Mary E. Haskett, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at North
Carolina State University who studies the links between parenting and children’s social
adjustment, specifically children who have experienced trauma and adverse parenting.
Although this study does not directly related to homelessness and the parent-child
relationship, the knowledge that children living in homelessness are generally
developmentally delayed is an important factor that can be mitigated by positive parenting
that better supports the child.
Herbers, J. E., Cutuli, J. J., Monn, A. R., Narayan, A. J., & Masten, A. S. (2014). Trauma,
adversity, and parent–child relationships among young children experiencing
homelessness. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 42(7), 1167-1174.
This study examined the exposure to potentially traumatic events among children living in
homeless shelters and other homeless housing options with their families. It aimed to
describe the experiences of homeless children, to search for associations between adversity,
trauma symptoms, emotional and behavior problems, and executive functioning, and to test
parenting quality as a relation to these outcomes. It was found that young children living in
homelessness face risks for healthy development, including chronic stress due to poverty as
well as traumatic events that can negatively impact executive functioning and emotional
and behavioral regulation. The present study found that relationships with caregivers were
important positive systems for children coping with chronic stress and trauma. Parents and
other caregivers can provide some form of protection from the negative impacts of

adversity through supportive and positive parenting behaviors. Parenting characterized by
positive structure, direction, and responsiveness produced children with fewer trauma
symptoms and emotional/behavior problems. Janette Herbers, the principal author, is a
professor and researcher at Villanova University who works with the People’s Emergency
Center, a non-profit that provides support to homeless women and children among other
services. Furthermore, Angela Narayan is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the UCSF School of
Medicine with a focus in psychiatry, and she has conducted research on trauma, resiliency,
and child development. This study is pertinent to the parent-child relationship in the context
of homelessness because it highlights the necessity of positive parenting in order to
mitigate the negative effects of homelessness on child development.
Labella, M., Narayun, A., & Masten, A. (2015, September). Emotional climate in families
experiencing homelessness: Associations with child affect and socioemotional adjustment
in school. Social Development.
This study explored associations among family-level risks, emotional climate, and child
adjustment in families living in homelessness. 64% of the participants were African-
American and all children were between 4 and 6 years old. It was found that the parent’s
internalizing distress was associated with higher parent negativity, which was then linked to
negative affect in children. On the other hand, parent warmth was associated with positive
affect in children. For male children, parental negativity predicted lower prosocial behavior
in the classroom. Narayun authored this paper along with Madelyn Labella, who is a
psychiatry researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital and has written many journal articles
about homelessness and child development. This article further associates parental distress

with adverse parenting behaviors by explaining the connections between parental distress,
parental negativity, and negative affect in children. In the context of homelessness, parental
distress is often extremely high; thus, positive parenting techniques are necessary in
homeless situations to help mitigate parental negativity.
Lee, H. Y., & Hans, S. L. (2015, August). Prenatal depression and young low-income mothers'
perception of their children from pregnancy through early childhood [Electronic
version]. Infant Behavior and Development, 40, 183-192.
Lee and Hans conducted a study on low-income, African American women age 13-21 that
examines the role of prenatal depression on mothers’ perception of difficult child behavior
and parent-child interaction during pregnancy and through 2 years postpartum. During
pregnancy, 47% of the young mothers scored above the clinical level for depressive
symptoms. These mothers generally anticipated and perceived significantly more child
difficulty and parent-child interaction difficulty than the young mothers who reported little
to no depressive symptoms. The study found that mothers who experienced prenatal
depression held more negative views about their children throughout development, from
birth to two years postpartum. Lee and Hans’s study suggests that there are lasting effects
from prenatal depression on the parent-child relationship, and these effects may be rooted
in a mother’s early perception of their child, which forms before the baby is born. This
negative perception creates deficits for the child and the parent-child relationship before the
child is even born. Sydney Hans, PhD, is a professor and researcher at the University of
Chicago and has conducted extensive research on early life experience between the mother
and infant and later influences on development. This study is pertinent to the experience of

homeless mothers because, often, homeless mothers are extremely young and come from
traumatic backgrounds; thus, prenatal depression is likely common in the homeless
population and other studies have shown that homeless mothers often struggle with mental
health. Therefore, the negative perception that these mothers may have of their children
needs to be altered through more positive parent-child interactions that can occur as a result
of positive parenting.
McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. American
psychologist, 53(2), 185.
This study examines the relations between socioeconomic status, specifically lower
socioeconomic brackets, and child development. It was found that persistent poverty has
detrimental effects on IQ, school achievement, and socioemotional functioning. Furthermore,
lower teacher expectations and poorer academic-readiness skills also contributed to lower
levels of school achievement among poor children. Not surprisingly, the relation between
socioeconomic disadvantage and children’s socioemotional functioning was mediated by
harsh, inconsistent parenting and elevated exposure to acute and chronic stressors. Vonnie C.
McLoyd is a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Michigan who
investigates the role of parental behavior as a protector for youth from negative adjustment.
The above study is pertinent to this research due to its findings that children’s development is
mediated not only by chronic, acute stressors such as homelessness, but also by adverse
parenting, further highlighting the need for positive parenting within homeless families.

Park, J. M., Ostler, T., & Fertig, A. (2015). Physical and Psychological Aggression Toward a
Child Among Homeless, Doubled-Up, and Other Low-Income Families. Journal of Social
Service Research, 41(3), 413-423.
This study examined the extent of adverse parenting behaviors in low-income families with
children. Adverse parenting behaviors were defined as physical and psychological
aggression and were commonly found among all low-income families regardless of housing
instability. However, mothers with homeless backgrounds reported higher rates of
physically and psychologically aggressive behaviors toward their children. Maternal
depression also contributed to adverse parenting behaviors. Overall, housing instability was
found as a predictive marker for adverse parenting behaviors. Jung Min Park is a professor
in the Department of Social Welfare at Seoul National University and Teresa Ostler is a
professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois—Urbana, making the
two main authors knowledgeable on the topic of homelessness. This study highlights the
presence of adverse parenting behaviors in the context homelessness, further supporting the
need to discuss positive parenting information in homeless situations.
Perlman, S., Cowan, B., Gewirtz, A., Haskett, M., & Stokes, L. (2012). Promoting positive
parenting in the context of homelessness. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(3), 402.
This article focuses on reviewing the issues of parenting in shelters, describing specific
programs that focus on positive parenting within shelters, and providing recommendations
for supporting positive parenting within homeless families. Previous research shows that
homeless mothers are much more likely to engage in child maltreatment behaviors; thus,
parenting is an important target in many intervention programs. The Parent Management

Training—Oregon intervention program teaches five core parenting practices: skill
encouragement, problem solving, limit setting, monitoring, and positive involvement. This
method has been studied extensively and has been found to encourage successful parenting
skills among homeless mothers and lower maternal depression. A second program, the
Family Care Curriculum, is designed for families living in emergency and transitional
housing. This program uses attachment and social learning theories, trauma-informed
practice, Effective Black Parenting, and self-care to create a comprehensive curriculum that
changes parenting beliefs and attitudes. It was found that mothers who participated in this
curriculum held more positive beliefs about parenting and greater parenting insight at the end
of the course. The authors also advocate for increased funding to early childhood education
programs such as Head Start. Many authors contributed to this article including Dr. Haskett
from above, as well as Dr. Cowan, a practicing psychologist in Arlington, MA who works
with children with emotional and behavioral issues. This article is extremely relevant to the
impact of homelessness on the parent-child relationship as it clearly outlines possible
strategies to implement successful positive parenting workshops within Genesis Homes and
other shelters.
Schmitz, R. M., & Tyler, K. A. (2015) Homeless Young People’s Experiences of Caregiver
Rejection. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1-12.
This study examined the experiences of caregiver rejection for homeless young adults age
19-21. Almost all of the youth described some sort of familial rejection that was connected to
larger conflict within the family. Many of the participants reported being abused by a
parental figure’s significant other, leading to rejection from the central parental figure. It is

known that these forms of rejection can often lead to depression and impact the individual’s
ability to form healthy relationships in adulthood. Schmitz is a PhD candidate at the
University of Nebraska—Lincoln with research interests in the study of marginalized social
groups through the lens of that group’s own experiences, while Tyler is a Professor of
Sociology at the same university with specialties in homeless and high-risk youth. The idea
of caregiver rejection is important to the parent-child relationship in homeless families due to
the fact that initial caregiver rejection can create a vicious cycle in which the rejected child
eventually rejects their own children, resulting in negative parent-child relationships. Thus,
support and positive parenting can help to diminish the presence of caregiver rejection.
Swick, K. J. (2008). Empowering the parent–child relationship in homeless and other high-risk
parents and families. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(2), 149-153.
It is known that positive parent-child relationships are important for healthy development in
children. This article explores the barriers to the establishment of positive parent-child
relationships in homeless families and describes different strategies for addressing these
issues. These strategies include: (1) support parents in resolving the stressors that may be
harming the relationship, (2) create situations and activities where parents and children can
have regular and enjoyable learning and growth experiences, and (3) supporting parent and
child resources that help the individuals find meaning in their relationships. Dr. Swick was a
Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina until 2010, where he
conducted research on multicultural issues in education as well as strategies for teachers to
help homeless children succeed in school. Dr. Swick also chaired the South Carolina
McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Advisory Committee, making him an extremely

qualified professional in this field. This article is vital to the research on homelessness and
the parent-child relationship as it describes ways in which Genesis Home and other homeless
shelters could support its mothers in fostering healthy parent-child relationships.
Swick, K. J. (2009). Strengthening homeless parents with young children through meaningful
parent education and support. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(4), 327-332.
This article describes the ways in which homeless parents of young children have multiple
barriers that prevent them from developing positive parenting skills. Some of the major
barriers include negative stereotyping of homeless mothers, lack of positive parent role
models from their own childhoods, and issues of violence. Swick describes multiple ways for
early childhood professionals to help support homeless mothers including reaching out to
parents who are homeless through visits to shelters, communicating with the parents in a
caring and supportive way, developing intervention strategies that help parents overcome
obstacles that harm their parenting, and providing formal and informal parenting education
opportunities for homeless parents. Within these formal and informal parenting education
opportunities it is best to provide spaces for discussion of strategies that engage the parents in
learning models of positive parenting and strengthening their already existing parenting
skills. As outlined above, Dr. Swick had years of experience in the field of early childhood
education in the context of homelessness, making his research valid and reliable. Swick’s
article is extremely important to this research as it explains the importance of educating
homeless parents on positive parenting techniques. Looking ahead, this article is a good
starting place for creating an open space for parenting discussions within Genesis Home.

Swick, K. J., Williams, R., & Fields, E. (2014). Parenting While Being Homeless. Early
Childhood Education Journal, 42(6), 397-403.
In this article, Dr. Swick, along with Professors of Education Dr. Williams and Dr. Fields,
examined the experience of parenting while homeless. The authors outlined some needs that
most homeless families have including supportive and responsive helpers, adequate and
affordable housing, access to quality childcare, educational opportunities including parent
education, and transportation. It was found that homeless parents experience high levels of
violence, anxiety, and fear, and they often sense these emotions in their children as well.
Parents are often left without quality childcare resources, which impedes their search for
work. Homeless mothers report that when they are able to get adequate childcare, they felt
empowered and their child’s functioning seemed to improve. The authors suggest that
professionals address total family needs by providing parenting support programs that teach
successful parenting strategies and focusing on long-term perspectives by creating plans for
continuing support for the entire family. As noted above, Dr. Swick is qualified in this field,
along with Dr. Williams and Dr. Fields, making this article valid and relevant to research on
homelessness and the parent-child relationship. This article further supports the demonstrated
need for parental education within homeless contexts.
Torquati, J. C. (2002). Personal and social resources as predictors of parenting in homeless
families. Journal of Family Issues, 23(4), 463-485.
This article explores the predictors of positive and negative parenting within homeless
families. Interestingly, Torquati found that positive parenting and negative parenting were
not correlated, meaning that parents could report many positive and negative parenting

behaviors. One of the most important findings was the impact of parental physical health on
parenting behaviors, where healthier parents had higher rates of positive parenting behaviors.
Thus, physical health could be an intervention for homeless families. Torquati is a faculty
member at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln within Child, Youth, and Family Studies
who has conducted extensive research in the parent-child relationship as well as education.
This study is relevant to the research at hand because it reveals that parenting is a mix of
positive and negative behaviors, and shelters must work to increase the instances of positive
parenting behaviors while mitigating the instances of negative behaviors. Furthermore, this
study had implications for Genesis Home and other shelters in which access to healthcare can
support positive parenting behaviors.
Whitbeck, L. B., Armenta, B. E., & Gentzler, K. C. (2015). Homelessness‐ Related Traumatic
Events and PTSD Among Women Experiencing Episodes of Homelessness in Three US
Cities. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(4), 355-360.
This article reports the prevalence of traumatic events among women experiencing
homelessness across the U.S. Results revealed that 42.6% of the participants had symptoms
for lifetime PTSD and 39.7% had symptoms for PTSD that appeared within the last year. It is
generally accepted that homelessness is a traumatic experience; however, this study provided
clear evidence for this. Dr. Whitbeck is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the
University of Nebraska—Lincoln with an extensive research background in the lives and
experiences of homeless individuals and families. This study is pertinent to the research on
homelessness and the parent-child relationship due to the finding that many homeless women
meet criteria for PTSD. With the knowledge that depression leads to negative parent-child

relationships, it is likely that other mental illnesses will also negatively impact the parent-
child relationship, further supporting the need for positive parenting education within
homeless shelters.
Wilson, A. B., & Squires, J. (2014). Young children and families experiencing homelessness.
Infants & Young Children, 27(3), 259-271.
This review describes the prevalence of homelessness in the United States at a time where
the number of individuals experiencing homelessness has grown above that seen during the
Great Depression as well as the obstacles that children face in gaining access to necessary
academic and health interventions. The authors encourage the use of Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological model as a framework for addressing these obstacles. Some suggested solutions
include establishing collaborative relationships among community partners, documenting the
success of alternative preschool programs, and providing access to transportation to and from
community partners. The authors explain that it is essential that homeless children be
prioritized for access to quality early education programs. Dr. Wilson is an Assistant
Professor of Early Childhood Education at Eastern Washington University, and she has
written multiple reports on the state of education for young children; while Dr. Squires is a
Professor in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of
Oregon with research interests in early intervention for early childhood education. This
review is important to the research at hand because it focuses on the needs of the homeless
community in the United States today, stating that there are extreme barriers to quality care
and education that need to be addressed.

Summary and Assessment
The studies above create a comprehensive picture of the parent-child relationship within
the context of homelessness. This relationship is influenced by a multitude of factors, including
maternal mental health, parental physical health, family income, chronic stressors, traumatic
events outside of homelessness, prenatal depression, and homelessness within itself. It has been
shown that negative parent-child relationships result in stunted child development, including
academic and behavioral development as well as overall functioning. However, it has also been
shown that positive parenting behaviors can mitigate the negative effects of homelessness and
increase child resiliency. Thus, research on homelessness and the parent-child relationship
supports the conclusion that homeless mothers can benefit from positive parenting education and
training. Parenting characterized by high warmth, high structure, direction, and responsiveness is
associated with children with fewer trauma symptoms and fewer emotional and behavioral
problems. Positive parent-child relationships can be supported by creating situations and
activities where parents and children can have enjoyable learning and growth experiences as well
as establishing a positive parenting curriculum, such as Parent Management Training or the
Family Care Curriculum.
Genesis Home can benefit from the conclusions drawn from the above studies by
attempting to further support positive parenting behaviors within its walls. By supporting and
promoting positive parenting within Genesis Home, the shelter can leave a lasting, positive
impact on the families that move in and out of the transitional home by improving the parent-
child relationship and supporting child development. This research shows that interventions are
needed for homeless families, and one of the most effective ways to improve family functioning,
mental health, and child development is to teach and encourage positive parenting behaviors.

References
Bassuk, E. L., Weinreb, L. F., Dawson, R., Perloff, J. N., & Buckner, J. C. (1997). Determinants
of behavior in homeless and low-income housed preschool children. Pediatrics, 100(1), 92-
100.
Haskett, M. E., Armstrong, J. M., & Tisdale, J. (2015). Developmental Status and Social–
Emotional Functioning of Young Children Experiencing Homelessness. Early Childhood
Education Journal, 1-7.
Herbers, J. E., Cutuli, J. J., Monn, A. R., Narayan, A. J., & Masten, A. S. (2014). Trauma,
adversity, and parent–child relationships among young children experiencing
homelessness. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 42(7), 1167-1174.
Labella, M., Narayun, A., & Masten, A. (2015, September). Emotional climate in families
experiencing homelessness: Associations with child affect and socioemotional adjustment
in school. Social Development.
Lee, H. Y., & Hans, S. L. (2015, August). Prenatal depression and young low-income mothers'
perception of their children from pregnancy through early childhood [Electronic
version]. Infant Behavior and Development, 40, 183-192.
McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. American
psychologist, 53(2), 185.
Park, J. M., Ostler, T., & Fertig, A. (2015). Physical and Psychological Aggression Toward a
Child Among Homeless, Doubled-Up, and Other Low-Income Families. Journal of Social
Service Research, 41(3), 413-423.
Perlman, S., Cowan, B., Gewirtz, A., Haskett, M., & Stokes, L. (2012). Promoting positive
parenting in the context of homelessness. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(3), 402.

Schmitz, R. M., & Tyler, K. A. (2015) Homeless Young People’s Experiences of Caregiver
Rejection. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1-12.
Swick, K. J. (2008). Empowering the parent–child relationship in homeless and other high-risk
parents and families. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(2), 149-153.
Swick, K. J. (2009). Strengthening homeless parents with young children through meaningful
parent education and support. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(4), 327-332.
Swick, K. J., Williams, R., & Fields, E. (2014). Parenting While Being Homeless. Early
Childhood Education Journal, 42(6), 397-403.
Torquati, J. C. (2002). Personal and social resources as predictors of parenting in homeless
families. Journal of Family Issues, 23(4), 463-485.
Whitbeck, L. B., Armenta, B. E., & Gentzler, K. C. (2015). Homelessness‐ Related Traumatic
Events and PTSD Among Women Experiencing Episodes of Homelessness in Three US
Cities. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(4), 355-360.
Wilson, A. B., & Squires, J. (2014). Young children and families experiencing homelessness.
Infants & Young Children, 27(3), 259-271.

Annotated Bibliography

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