The Veteran: factors can contribute to homelessness

Question 1 

Research in sociology has shown that many factors can contribute to homelessness. The United States’ veterans have often fallen victims to these social problems. It is almost common knowledge that the combat life that veterans experienced led them to face numerous traumatic situations. As such, this, in turn, leads to mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The severe anxiety and mental instability associated with the PTSD coupled with the lack of mental health services could lead to self-medication. Self-medication with illicit drugs could eventually lead to addiction which has the potential of driving them to the street life and having nowhere else to go. Mr. Fischel’s homelessness could also have been due to the lack of a job. As such, this has denied him the opportunity to access enough funds that could give him the opportunity to afford a decent house. Therefore, he falls in a vicious cycle of wanting to go to work, but at the same time, he does not have a house to live. 

In most circumstances, society has often viewed homelessness as a result of a person’s fault rather than assessing the societal factors contributing to it. It, therefore, calls upon individuals to look at the broader picture in assessing the reasons behind the unprecedented rates of homelessness among different citizens. In Mr. Fischel’s case and other instances of homelessness, applying the sociological imagination would assist one in understanding the causes of homelessness by taking into consideration the external factors that might have played a role in contributing to the situation. Some of the factors that have contributed to rampant cases of homelessness include poor mental health and unemployment. Sociological imagination, therefore, provides individuals with the much-required impetus to look into the root cause of a problem whenever it happens (Kendall, 2012). It sheds light on who is homeless and the unique factors that might have contributed to their situation. 

Question 2 

As a process, socialization can broadly be divided into two stages including the primary and secondary socialization. Primary socialization occurs during the early life stages when a person is a child or as they traverse their adolescence (Kendall, 2012). A hallmark of this stage is that an individual develops their core identity. In most instances, the nuclear family forms the basis upon which a child socializes. On the other hand, secondary socialization occurs throughout an individual’s life. As the child grows, they require new groups which trigger the need for further socialization. Secondary socialization continues as a person grows into adulthood. It is mainly characterized by the attainment of new group membership and social institutions at their disposal. The process of socialization is significantly crucial in the two stages identified. A combined primary and secondary socialization contribute to the holistic nature of an individual. 

As previously noted, primary socialization occurs during childhood. It sets the center-stage for future socialization. In this stage, the child acquires values, attitudes, and actions specific to the given culture they originate from. It is regarded as a delicate period in one’s life because the child is likely to take values they see in their environment without necessarily appraising them (Kendall, 2012). For instance, when a child witnesses their mother holding discriminatory attitudes towards a given group, the child will likely follow suit. In most circumstances, secondary socialization occurs outside the realms of the home. In this case, both the children and adults learn to adapt to the particular situations they find themselves in. Through socialization, an individual learns to align his or her attitudes to that of a particular group. 

Reference 

Kendall, D. (2012). Sociology in our times. Cengage Learning.