Personal, dyadic, and contextual resilience in parents experiencing homelessness

• Quantitative studies on parental positive functioning in homelessness are reviewed.
• Results are presented by personal, dyadic, and contextual factors and outcomes.
• Findings are limited by a small number of studies and methodological shortcomings.
• Nevertheless, many parents display positive functioning despite homelessness.
• More research needs to replicate findings and build on the existing literature.

Adopting a developmental psychopathology (DP) perspective, the present study systematically reviewed the quantitative literature on positive functioning and outcomes in parents experiencing homelessness. Studies were identified from PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science using an exhaustive list of key terms. Of 3443 total studies screened, 219 were inspected, 176 were excluded, and 43 were included. Included studies fell into three outcome categories: the ability to function well personally (cope effectively, meet basic family needs, experience reduced psychopathology); dyadically (demonstrate positive parenting practices and promote child adjustment); and contextually (exit episodes of homelessness and avoid shelter re-entry). Results also reflected personal, dyadic, and contextual independent variables associated with each positive outcome category. Many parents experiencing homelessness display positive outcomes, and many factors support positive functioning. Future research should replicate these findings and examine multilevel parental functioning to help bridge the gap between the DP theoretical perspective and the quantitative evidence for parental resilience as a process.