Exploring the Self-Esteem of Dually-Diagnosed Homeless

According to the 1997-1998 annual report from the United States Department of Children and Family Services the steady increase of homelessness in our nation is astonishing (U.S. Dept. of Children & Families, 1997-1998). Among the homeless population, 26% are mentally ill as well as substance abuse problems and they are classified as dually- diagnosed. Dually-Diagnosed Homeless Individuals are an extremely vulnerable subgroup with poorly understood needs (Drake, Osher, & Wallach, 1991). There has been paucity in research focusing on personality characteristics on dually-diagnosed homeless, especially in the area of self-esteem. The implications of a dually-diagnosed homeless individuals' self-esteem and how it might affect them are unclear. The present study addresses this concern and explores self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale on dually-diagnosed homeless individuals. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is a global and one-dimensional ten-item Likert scale self-report. The scale has relatively consistent validity scores ranging from .60-.67 and reliability scores ranging from .73-.87 (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, 2003). Participants in this study were recruited from local transitional housing facilities, malls, places of business, and doctor's offices. Data were derived from a sample of convenience on two groups, dually-diagnosed homeless single males between the ages of 30 thru 60, and neither dually-diagnosed nor homeless single males between the ages of 30 thru 60. Preliminary data analysis will be given utilizing at-test to examine if there is a significant difference in Self-Esteem between the two groups. The alpha level will be set at .05.