Emerging Adulthood in Time and Space: The Geographic Context of Homelessness

• DOI: 10.1111/jftr.12076
• Publication Date: 2015-06-02T09:43:46Z
• Authors: Amanda Williams; Rebecca A. Sheehan
• Keywords: 05 social sciences; 1. No poverty; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; 10. No inequality

Limited research addresses the development of emerging adults who are homeless, and studies rarely explore their immediate and intertwined experiences of geography, social networks, and daily paths. These dynamic contexts may play significant roles in emerging adults' homeless experiences, continued chronic homelessness, and/or successful transitions to self‐sufficient adulthood. Applying geographic theory to emerging adult development among marginalized youth offers new linguistic and methodological tools to further our understanding of what emerging adulthood looks like and how it functions among youth “on the street,” those “of the street,” and those who have been completely abandoned. An integrated theoretical model is offered for innovative interdisciplinary research on the lived experiences of homeless youth, particularly related to developmental themes of exploration, stability, and connectedness.