Value, attitude, and belief determinants of willingness to accept a facility for the homeless.
Item
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Title
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Value, attitude, and belief determinants of willingness to accept a facility for the homeless.
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Identifier
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AAI9020811
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identifier
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9020811
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Creator
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Somerman, Frances B.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Irwin Katz
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social | Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies | Sociology, Public and Social Welfare
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Abstract
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This dissertation is a study of some determinants of people's willingness to accept or reject a facility for the homeless in a suburban community. The homeless are a stigmatized group, not only because of their poverty, but also because the stereotypes of being non-white and mentally ill have been associated with them. Basic values, attitudes toward the homeless, and specific beliefs about a proposed facility have been examined, along with the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) phenomenon, to explore if, and to what degree, they affect community acceptance or rejection of a facility.;Westchester County has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. In the Westchester town of Greenburgh a temporary facility to house homeless families was proposed. There was a vociferous and tenacious reaction against this plan from many members of the community. A sample population of 154 people from this town, at varying distances from the proposed site, was selected and given a questionnaire which examined their beliefs, attitudes, and values in relationship to their acceptance of or resistance to the facility.;Based on previous findings that values, attitudes, and beliefs are important determinants of people's behavior, and on the prevalent NIMBY phenomenon, it was predicted that these variables would be related to respondents' willingness to accept a facility in their community. Previously designed Protestant ethic (PE) and Humanitarian-Egalitarian (HE) scales were used to measure two basic values (Katz & Hass, 1988). Scales to measure attitudes toward the homeless and beliefs about a planned facility were developed. Value, attitude, and belief scales were interrelated with each other as expected, so that HE, pro-homeless attitudes, and positive beliefs about the plan were correlated, while PE, anti-homeless attitudes, and negative beliefs about the plan were correlated. As predicted, values, attitudes, and beliefs were related to plan acceptance, so that HE, pro-homeless attitudes, and positive beliefs about the plan were positively related to acceptance, and PE, anti-homeless attitudes, and negative beliefs about the plan were positively related to rejection. Also as predicted, four proximity measures were all related to acceptance of the plan.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
