AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Reports suggest 33% of homeless people battle mental illness. Sources cite mental illness as another major cause of homelessness, which often leads to drug and alcohol abuse. Common mental disorders the homeless struggle with include: Bipolar disorder.

Detailed explanation-2: -People living with mental health problems and disorders are more susceptible to three key factors that can lead to homelessness: poverty, disaffiliation, and personal vulnerability. Certain disorders can limit individuals’ capacity to sustain employment, and as a result they have very little income.

Detailed explanation-3: -Lack of Affordable Housing – There’s a clear connection between the lack of affordable places to live, and the number of people living on the streets. More specifically, in cities and metropolitan areas.

Detailed explanation-4: -What are the most common types of mental illness among people experiencing homelessness? Affective disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders are among the most common types of mental illness in the homeless population.

Detailed explanation-5: -Rates of mental illness among people who are homeless in the United States are twice the rate found for the general population (Bassuk et al., 1998). 47 percent of homeless women meet the criteria for a diagnosis of major depressive disorder-twice the rate of women in general (Buckner, Beardslee, & Bassuk, 2004).