"I Can Draw a Happy Face for You": Coping Strategies of Homeless Children

This qualitative study examined the ways in which homeless children cope with their environment. Preliminary data were gathered by observing homeless children at a homeless shelter day care center in a medium-sized midwestern city. As many as 12 children, aged 2 to 6 years, were observed in the day care setting on three different weekday mornings. On three subsequent visits to the shelter, individual homeless children were asked to draw pictures and create stories about those pictures. Observation notes were examined for communicative behavior patterns. Results indicate that homeless children of preschool age coped with their environment by nonverbally expressing anger and by sharing with and caring for other children at the day care center. The children's drawing and interview sessions were transcribed and examined for recurring coping strategies. Three of the children expressed an unusual pattern of repetition in their drawings, and indications of sharing and caring were also evident. Eight sample drawings are included. (MM)