Social Determinants of Health and Psychological Capital Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Abstract

Background: Social determinants of health affect health behaviors and outcomes. Youth experiencing homelessness suffer significant deprivation of resources such as inadequate housing, reduced education, poor health care, and decreased economic stability. Inner resources, such as psychological capital, may also be related to health behaviors and health outcomes. Objective: In this study, we sought to describe and explore associations among selected determinants of health and self-reported scores on indicators of psychological capital among youth experiencing homelessness. Methods: This cross-sectional secondary analysis was conducted with a randomized subsample of 148 youth. We calculated chi-square frequencies to describe the data, classical item analyses to evaluate responses, and correlation tests to examine significance of associations. Results: Youth in this sample demonstrated that they possess inner resources associated with determinants of health. Education, health care, and social support were significantly associated with attributes of psychological capital (hope, efficacy, resilience, optimism). Sexual minority groups had high representation in this subsample (25.7%), indicating a need for more study and equitable services for this population. Conclusion: More research should be conducted to better understand the associations between determinants of health, psychological capital, and health behaviors among disadvantaged youth to advance health equity initiatives.