Thinking outside of the corrugated box: an exploration of the causal tendencies driving homelessness

Boyd, Colin (2024) Thinking outside of the corrugated box: an exploration of the causal tendencies driving homelessness. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Introduction - Homelessness is a topic which has been extensively researched in the UK, yet an understanding of exactly how it comes to exist remains contested. Critical realist scholars have argued that various causal tendencies interact in the production of homelessness. However, recent critical realist work has positioned several structural factors as central to homelessness.

Objective - Using a critical realist approach, agency and culture will be written back into a causal framework, alongside structure. The purpose is to offer an original contribution by encapsulating the stratified interrelating factors which have a tendency to drive broad homelessness.

Method - Data was collected via poems from individuals who have lived experience of homelessness, semi-structured interviews with practitioners working in the field, and X (formerly Twitter) data. This was analysed using trusted critical realist procedures.

Results - Real mechanisms identified include trauma, patriarchy, discrimination, economic conditions, political will, a culture of distrust, organisational practices, and family structures. These mechanisms can create actual events which put human agents at risk of homelessness. These events include poverty, the proliferation of expensive or poor-quality housing, a lack of employment opportunities, marginalisation, substance misuse, survival activities, and domestic violence. In turn, these actual events can lead to observed experiential outcomes including a lack of suitable housing, poor decision-making, and homelessness subcultures. However, for homelessness to transpire, there usually needs to be a trigger event too. Furthermore, agency is of paramount importance because it can alter the extent to which these factors generate homelessness, but simultaneously, these factors can constrain the actions of agents.

Conclusion - A framework is ultimately offered, encapsulating the stratified factors of significance detailed above, whilst also acknowledging the synergy of agency in the production of broad homelessness. The policy implications of this are wide ranging but are imparted within this thesis.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work
Depositing User:	Zoe White
Date Deposited:	11 Feb 2025 15:25
Last Modified:	11 Feb 2025 15:25
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98450
DOI:

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