Differences in overall happiness among homeless people in Madrid (Spain)

Authors

  • Sonia Panadero Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  • José Juan Vázquez Universidad de Alcalá
  • Ana Isabel Guillén Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  • Rosa María Martín Universidad de Alcalá
  • Héctor Cabrera Universidad de Alcalá

Abstract

This paper analyzes various aspects of overall happiness expressed by a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid (Spain). This group is difficult to access, heavily stigmatized, and lives in extreme poverty. The sample was composed of 235 homeless people, all adults, who had spent the night before the interview in a shelter for homeless people, on the street or in other places not initially designed for sleeping, or who were in supervised accommodation for homeless people at the time of the interview. Information was gathered using a heteroapplied structured interview. The results obtained show that around half of the homeless people in Madrid said that they were happy, while the factors that help to predict happiness to the greatest extent among homeless people were not feeling alone or abandoned, not suffering from any disability or handicap, not having any serious or chronic illness, having good expectations for the future, identifying with some sort of religious belief and having a positive perception of their state of health.

Keywords:

homeless, overall happiness, Madrid