ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a broad conceptual model of homelessness that examines biopsychosocial risk factors associated with homelessness in relation to the constructs of temporal course, housing status, and individual and social outcomes. It employs an ecological perspective to situate and describes known biopsychosocial risk factors in a hierarchy of systems/domains. The goal is to transcend the classic debate that posited homelessness as the result of either individual or structural factors. Lack of employment is often identified as a major cause of homelessness; however, many homeless persons report being employed or having occasional work. Families with children are the most rapidly growing group of the homeless population. Poverty is overriding and intertwined in homelessness. Biopsychosocial risk factors encompass a range of factors including individual biology and development and circumstances such as poverty and its many facets to housing availability and stability.
