Personal and Situational Perspectives on Rejection of a Homelessness and Substance Abuse Program: An Exploratory Study (Report‪)‬

Services rejection is of special concern for outpatient substance abuse programs that treat adults who have experience with homelessness. Rejection is alleged to occur with alarming frequency among members of this population, and there is evidence that it has the potential to limit progress on drinking, drug, and homeless problems. This article tests the contribution to rejection of two sets of factors: (1) special personal attributes, which are widely believed to affect homeless clients' motivation or ability to participate in an intervention; and (2) situational factors (that is, external circumstances), which occasionally are alleged to influence clients' perceptions of the rewards of the services compared to the costs. The results more generally imply that client responses are more fully explained by environmental cues and experiences than by the measured personal deficits. Isolation is the only predictive special personal attribute. Keywords: homelessness; intervention research; services rejection; substance abuse services