Stress and Traumatic Stress: How Do Past Events Influence Current Traumatic Stress among Mothers Experiencing Homelessness?

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the relationship between past traumatic events and the level of current traumatic stress among mothers experiencing homelessness. The data for this study were gathered from 75 homeless mothers between May 2006 and October 2006 using a cross-sectional survey design with purposive sampling. All mothers were interviewed in a face-to-face, semistructured interview format using standardized questionnaires and measures, including the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Quick, Williams' Life History Calendar of Traumatic Events, the Traumatic Stress Index, and the Davidson Trauma Scale. The mothers ranged in age from 18 to 50. Forty-four percent were white, 21% were African American, 3% were Native American, 31% identified themselves as multiracial, and 9% reported Hispanic ethnicity. The analysis indicated that the average level of traumatic stress from past traumatic events and the number of distressing (but nontraumatic) events did not influence current traumatic stress; however, the number of past traumatic events significantly influenced the current level of traumatic stress among mothers experiencing homelessness. Recommendations for future research include investigating how traumatic stress affects a mother's ability to locate, find, and retain housing and how trauma interventions influence mothers to exit homelessness. KEY WORDS: homeless mothers; Life History Calendar; posttraumatic stress disorder; stress; traumatic stress ********** Between 30 percent and 40 percent of the estimated 3.5 to 4.5 million homeless people in the United States consist of families, mostly mothers with small children (Urban Institute, 2001; U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2007). Many of these mothers struggle daily to keep their children safe, warm, fed, and together as a family. At the least, these mothers have suffered the trauma of losing their home, a place of familiarity that provided a sense of security and grounding for them and their children. At the most, becoming homeless may have been the most recent in an accumulation of tragic events that these mothers have experienced. This study investigated traumatic stress among mothers experiencing homelessness, including whether past events influence current levels of traumatic stress among mothers. Obtaining a better understanding of traumatic stress among mothers experiencing homelessness is important because of the debilitating effects traumatic stress can have on someone's ability to function. When a person experiences an intense traumatic reaction, the autonomic nervous system reacts in such a way that the higher functioning areas of the brain instinctively give way to the basic survival regions of the brain (Lanius et al., 2001). In effect, higher cognitive functioning is shut down or severely compromised. This automatic response can seriously impair decision-making capacities and communication skills of the traumatized individual. It is not surprising that this effect could have tremendous implications for homeless mothers who have experienced traumatic stress as they attempt to locate housing, hold down a job, or navigate social services on their own. Increasing our understanding of the prevalence of traumatic stress among homeless mothers and how past traumatic events may affect current traumatic stress could provide useful knowledge to social workers in their efforts to assist mothers who are homeless and suffering the effects of trauma. But what is traumatic stress? How is traumatic stress different from normal stress? LITERATURE REVIEW Traditional Stress Theory Traditional stress theory originated with physician and pioneering researcher Hans Selye (Critelli & Ee, 1996; Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan, & Mullan, 1981). For Selye (1974), the main elements of stress theory included stressors and stress. Selye (1974) defined a stressor as anything that produces stress, with some stressors being pleasing (for example, the birth of a baby, a passionate embrace) and other stressors being unpleasant (for example, the loss of a job, having the flu); stress, however, is defined as "the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it" (p. …