Understanding Trauma Normativeness, Normalization, and Help Seeking in Homeless Mothers

• Published in: Violence against women Vol. 24; no. 13; pp. 1523 - 1539
• Main Authors: Brush, Barbara L., Gultekin, Laura E., Dowdell, Elizabeth B., Saint Arnault, Denise M., Satterfield, Katherine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2018; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Chronic illnesses; Cultural factors; Families & family life; Family relations; Female; Help seeking behavior; Homeless people; Homeless Persons - psychology; Housing; Humans; Middle Aged; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Normalization; Residential mobility; Social Support; Trauma; Vulnerability; Wounds and Injuries - complications; Wounds and Injuries - psychology; family homelessness; interpersonal violence; trauma exposure
• ISSN: 1077-8012; 1552-8448
• DOI: 10.1177/1077801217738583

Although trauma-informed approaches guide services to families experiencing homelessness, more emphasis is placed on securing housing than addressing underlying trauma contributing to housing instability. Examining the stories of 29 homeless and/or unstably housed mothers within the broader literature on family trauma and violence, chronic illness, and cultural aspects of family functioning, we define the process of trauma normativeness and normalization that may occur with repeated trauma experiences and argue that rehousing efforts must include concomitant attention to trauma and to understanding how individual, family, community, and cultural factors influence help-seeking behaviors in this vulnerable and growing population.