The attitudes of junior high school students towards homeless people

Abstract

Introduction. Although it is difficult to determine the exact number of people who are homeless in Poland, it has been estimated that about 35 000 people. It is supposed that the estimated error can reach several thousand.

Aim. The aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes of junior high school students towards homelessness.

Material and methods. The study group included 120 junior high school students. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part consisted of five questions regarding demographic data. The second part was composed of 13 questions relating to homelessness.

Results. According to students, the homeless is an old person (80%), male (78.3%), having incomplete family (53.3%), unmarried (50%), a resident of a larger town (49.2%), she or he has no children (47%) and having a basic education (39.2%). The first words associated with homeless were poor (80 %) and unhappy. The majority (88.3%) described the appearance of homeless people as unkempt, dirty, and stinking. Most of the respondents (83.3%) were convinced that the main source of income for the homeless was collecting scrap metal and 68.3% begging. Nearly half (46.7%) of the students saw the lack of job as a cause of homelessness and 38.3% family conflicts. More than half (60%) reported that Municipal Centre of Social Assistance should provide help for the homeless. Most of the students (62.5%), reported that mental health was a major reason for homelessness. More than half (54.2%) of the students did not know whether they wanted to help the homeless, 42.5% knew the homeless, and 70.8% did not want to have homeless as a neighbour.

Conclusions. Most of the respondents described a homeless as a poor and unhappy old man, unmarried, without children, having a basic education, and begging or collecting scrap metal. The lack of a job and family conflicts were the major reasons for homelessness. Most of the students did not want homeless as a neighbour, and they did not know whether they wanted to help them.