STRESS IN HOTEL CHILDREN: THE EFFECTS OF HOMELESSNESS ON ATTITUDES TOWARD SCHOOL

This is an exploratory study examining the characteristics of New York City's "hotel children," children who live in welfare hotels with their families, with regard to family background, attitudes toward school, and peer relationships. Three groups of children were compared: hotel children; nonhotel children whose attendance and school performance were poor enough to place them in the Attendance Improvement/Dropout Prevention program (AIDP) funded by New York State; and non-AIDP, nonhotel children who simply lived in the community. Although the common assumption is that children who experience a stressful home life will have problems in school, findings here suggest that the school environment may function to facilitate hotel children's adaptation to the extremely stressful events surrounding their home life. An important problem area was identified: hotel children reported that they were somewhat isolated from their peers during school hours and that their parents were unlikely to communicate with the schools concerning children's problems or progress. Findings from the study will have implications for educators and agencies who are involved with efforts to support the educational achievement and social development of homeless children.