Date Presented 04/04/19
This pretest-posttest quasi-experimental pilot investigation used a client-centered outcomes measure, Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), to identify gains achieved following attendance to OT sessions focused on financial literacy for teens living in a homeless shelter. The teens collaborated with graduate OT students to develop goals and then identified the self-perceived gains following participation in the group sessions.
Primary Author and Speaker: Anna Shaver
Additional Authors and Speakers: Ani Abrahamian, Kelsey Baskovich, Celeste Li
Contributing Authors: Elisabeth Russ, Winifred Schultz-Krohn
PURPOSE: Over 550,000 youth, experience homelessness within the United States in 2017 (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018). For these adolescents, basic necessities of survival, such as food, shelter, and safety are compromised. While homeless youth may develop certain adaptations for survival, they do not typically acquire the life skills necessary to become well integrated and self-supporting in adulthood (Helfrich et al., 2006). Homeless adolescents self-reported they lack important skills of money management, locating safe and permanent housing, and searching for employment. A lack of adequate adult mentorship is considered a major contributing factor for low financial literacy among homeless teens. Developing financial literacy and money management skills is best done using a collaborative model (Ssewamala, Sperber, Blake & Ilic, 2012). The unique circumstances of homeless adolescents can impede life skill development. Transience, unstable living situations, and lack of educational continuity lead to decreased opportunity for acquiring necessary skills (National Center for Homeless Education, 2017). This investigation sought to answer the following research question: Does a leisure-based occupational therapy financial management program improve self-perceived financial competency for homeless adolescents living in a shelter?
DESIGN: This quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test quantitative pilot study used leisure-based activities to help homeless adolescents acquire financial literacy skills. Teens, ages 12 to 17 years old, residing at a local homeless shelter, were recruited to participate in this investigation. Consent and assent were obtained prior to five teens participating in the group sessions. Occupational therapy group sessions, provided twice a week at the homeless shelter, ran for 10 consecutive weeks. Each teen worked with an occupational therapy graduate student to develop goals related to financial literacy skills. Following the development of the goals, the teens participated in the group sessions. The first session each week focused on instruction in specific financial literacy skills and applied those skills to selecting materials for a low cost leisure activity. The second session each week involved participating in the leisure activity such as making low cost craft items or cooking.
METHODS: The shelter requested that all interested teens have the opportunity to participate in the sessions so no control group was used. The Ansell-Casey Assessment was used to collect demographic data and basic financial literacy skills prior to participating in group sessions. Use of a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design allowed comparison of performance before and after occupational therapy sessions. Goal attainment scaling was used as the outcome measure and each teen identified changes in skills.
RESULTS: All teens initially had difficulties with age appropriate financial literacy skills. Teens participating in the group sessions self-identified improvement in financial literacy skills using GAS scores. Visual analysis of the change in GAS scores from initial to final session revealed substantial gains in financial literacy skills.
CONCLUSIONS: This pilot investigation provides initial evidence of the self-identified gains in financial literacy following participation in an occupational therapy group. Teens identified the improvements in financial literacy goals using GAS as the outcome measure.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Occupational therapy services are underutilized with the homeless population and yet these professional services are beneficial. This underserved population would benefit from occupational therapy services and homeless teenagers should be afforded these opportunities.
References
Helfrich, C. A., Aviles, A. M., Badiani, C., Walens, D., & Sabol, P. (2006). Life skills interventions with homeless youth, domestic violence victims, and adults with mental illness. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, (20)3-4, 189-207. doi: 10.1300/J003v20n03_12
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2018). Who experiences homelessness: Youth and young adults. Retrieved from https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/who-experiences-homelessness/youth/
National Center for Homeless Education. (2017). In school every day: Addressing absenteeism among students experiencing homelessness. Retrieved from https://nche.ed.gov/downloads/briefs/chron-absent.pdf
Ssewamala, FM, Sperber, E, Blake, CA & Ilic, VP (2012). Increasing opportunities for inner-city youth: The feasibility of an economic empowerment model in East Harlem and the South Bronx, New York. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(1), 218-224. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.10.003
