An investigation into the public's attitude towards homelessness and its relation to their own levels of altruism and self-efficacy
Authors
Prenderville, Cathy
Issue Date
2009
Degree
BA in Psychology
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
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Abstract
The aim of the current study was to investigate the public attitudes towards the homeless, and to see did their own levels of altruism and self-efficacy relate to this. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire comprising of three separate questionnaires; The Attitudes Towards Homelessness Inventory, The Self-Report Altruism Scale, and The General Self-Efficacy Scale. Sixty participants were randomly selected to take part, twenty-nine male and thirty-one female. The age of the participants ranged from eighteen to sixty-five. The independent variables in this research are the participant's levels of altruism and self-efficacy. The dependant variable is the participant's attitudes towards homelessness. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between more positive views of homeless people, and those with higher levels of altruism and self-efficacy. There was also a trend between the attitudes of males and females, and their levels of altrusim and self-efficacy. It was concluded from these results that those with higher levels of altruism and self-efficacy held more favourable views of homeless people overall.