Changing Social Networks Among Homeless Individuals: A Prospective Evaluation of a Job- and Life-Skills Training Program.

In this study of homeless adults completing a job- and life-skills program (i.e., the Moving Ahead Program at St. Francis House, Boston), we prospectively examined changes in social network quality, size, and composition. Among the sample of participants (n = 150), we observed positive changes in social network quality over time. However, social network size and composition did not change among the full sample. The subset of participants who reported abstaining from alcohol during the months before starting the program reported healthy changes in their social networks; specifically, while completing the program, they re-structured their social networks such that fewer members of their network used alcohol to intoxication. We discuss practical implications of these findings. PMID: 25563486 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25563486?dopt=Abstract

Source: Community Mental Health Journal - January 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Gray HM, Shaffer PM, Nelson SE, Shaffer HJ Tags: Community Ment Health J Source Type: research