Studies of resilience and family resilience within families experiencing homelessness/housing instability: A systematic review

Families experiencing homelessness and housing instability face myriad challenges affecting the health outcomes of parents and children. Despite these hardships, resilience and family resilience among this population can contribute to positive outcomes with individuals and families emerging stronger amid adversity. This study systematically reviews research examining resilience and family resilience within families experiencing homelessness and/or housing instability. We searched five electronic databases with search terms related to family, homelessness, housing instability, and resilience. A total of 27 studies fit the inclusion criteria. Summaries of study designs, samples, demographics, and resilience-related findings were synthesized followed by quality assessments. The 27 studies, comprising quantitative (n = 10), qualitative (n = 15), and mixed-method designs (n = 2), revealed resilience-related factors within distinct domains. The first domain included individual factors such as perseverance, optimism, and problem-solving. Domain two focused on interpersonal factors including social support and parenting approaches. The third domain included community and environmental factors related to the impact of organizational staff. Findings demonstrate resilience-related factors at the individual, interpersonal, community, and environmental levels. Notably, this review found that both individual and interpersonal resilience factors were most prevalent, and demonstrated the need for integrating individual, interpersonal, and community components into both research and practice.