The article I found this week was from the journal, “Australian Journal of Social Issues” titled, “Are the Homeless Mentally Ill?” The contributing authors are Guy Johnson and Chris Chamberlain.

Johnson, G., & Chamberlain, C. (2011). Are the homeless mentally ill? Australian Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), 29-48,3-4. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.redlands.edu/docview/874622236?accountid=14729

This article focused on the mentally ill in homeless people in Australia. The research question was asking if people were mentally ill prior to being homeless. The reason for this study is because many people believe that the leading cause to being homeless is due to mental illness. However, no one ever stops to think about that fact that mental illness can be a result of being homeless. Imagine sleeping on the street, not knowing when your next meal will be, and if the police will come stop to talk to you or kick you out of where you are. I think anyone in this situation would develop some sort of anxiety or depression. Add being lonely, and potentially in and out of the legal system because there are citations that have to be dealt with, ultimately leading someone to drink or do drugs to cope with their problems. It is a safe bet that whether or not someone had a mental illness prior to being homeless it can develop or worsen. The type of data needed to answer this question is reports of acts, behaviors, and events to understand the persons past and present situation/state of mind. Deeply held opinions and attitudes can also be used to get to know the person better. The method used to gather this data will be looking at past reports (if there are any) and interviews to better understand the person. The method of data analysis that was used was categorical data to describe if they had mental illness prior to being homeless or not. I believe this study was conducted well, in the manner that they did several studies in various locations and areas, such as not only focusing on people in homeless shelters. Something I found interesting is that they did find a larger number of people who developed a mental illness once they became homeless – mainly facing depression and anxiety.