Altena Astrid M, Beijersbergen Mariëlle D, Vermunt Jeroen K, Wolf Judith R L M
Department of Primary and Community Care, Impuls-Netherlands Center for Social Care Research, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Department of Methodology and Statistics, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Health Soc Care Community. 2018 Jul;26(4):e587-e597. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12578. Epub 2018 Apr 17.
It is important to gain more insight into specific subgroups of homeless young adults (HYA) to enable the development of tailored interventions that adequately meet their diverse needs and to improve their quality of life. Within a heterogeneous sample of HYA, we investigated whether subgroups are distinguishable based on risk- and protective factors for quality of life. In addition, differences between subgroups were examined regarding the socio-demographic characteristics, the use of cognitive coping strategies and quality of life. A total of 393 HYA using shelter facilities in the Netherlands were approached to participate, between December 2011 and March 2013. Structured face-to-face interviews were administered approximately 2 weeks after shelter admission by trained research assistants. A latent class analysis was conducted to empirically distinguish 251 HYA in subgroups based on common risk factors (former abuse, victimisation, psychological symptoms and substance use) and protective factors (resilience, family and social support and perceived health status). Additional analysis of variance and chi-square tests were used to compare subgroups on socio-demographic characteristics, the use of cognitive coping strategies and quality of life. The latent class analysis yielded four highly interpretable subgroups: the at-risk subgroup, the high-risk and least protected subgroup, the low-risk subgroup and the higher functioning and protected subgroup. Subgroups of HYA with lower scores in risk factors showed higher scores in protective factors, the adaptive cognitive coping strategies and quality of life. Our findings confirm the need for targeted and tailored interventions for specific subgroups of HYA. Social workers need to be attentive to the pattern of risk- and protective factors in each individual to determine which risk factors are prominent and need to be targeted and which protective factors need to be enhanced to improve the quality of life of HYA.
深入了解无家可归的年轻成年人（HYA）的特定亚组非常重要，以便能够制定出符合他们多样化需求的量身定制的干预措施，从而改善他们的生活质量。在一个异质性的HYA样本中，我们调查了是否可以根据生活质量的风险因素和保护因素来区分亚组。此外，还研究了亚组在社会人口学特征、认知应对策略的使用和生活质量方面的差异。2011年12月至2013年3月期间，我们邀请了荷兰393名使用庇护设施的HYA参与研究。由经过培训的研究助理在庇护所入住约2周后进行结构化面对面访谈。进行了潜在类别分析，以根据共同的风险因素（既往虐待、受害、心理症状和物质使用）和保护因素（复原力、家庭和社会支持以及感知健康状况），从经验上区分251名HYA的亚组。使用方差分析和卡方检验进行额外分析，以比较亚组在社会人口学特征、认知应对策略的使用和生活质量方面的差异。潜在类别分析产生了四个高度可解释的亚组：高危亚组、高风险且保护最少的亚组、低风险亚组以及功能较高且受保护的亚组。风险因素得分较低的HYA亚组在保护因素、适应性认知应对策略和生活质量方面得分较高。我们的研究结果证实了针对HYA特定亚组进行有针对性和量身定制干预的必要性。社会工作者需要关注每个个体的风险因素和保护因素模式，以确定哪些风险因素突出且需要针对性处理，以及哪些保护因素需要加强，以改善HYA的生活质量。
