A cohort study on homeless ways of life and happiness in Bangkok

Abstract

Homelessness is one of the most concerning socio-economic problems in Thailand. It is a sad phenomenon that is noticed by millions of tourists annually as the visit the country. Although there has been research done on the issue of homelessness in the past, very little of it focused on the group of the new homeless people known as (NHL) which consists of those who are in the early stages of homelessness (less than 5 years). This research hypothesized that the behavior, way of life, and emotions of the people just becoming homeless should significantly differ from the group of people experiencing homeless life for a long time. Therefore, this research aimed to study behaviour and the way of life for people recently made homeless, and to evaluate social-economic factors affecting them. This research was not only based on data from a questionnaire given to this target group but also from a cohort study carried out in order to track their way of life over a period of around 5 months. We found that their way of living varied and depended on the place they chose to sleep. Moreover, the evidence clearly implied that 1 year could be considered as their turning point. The samples who were homeless people for less than 1 year showed a significant intention to come back to a normal life when compared to others. We also presented an econometric binary choices model indicating socio-economic factors significantly relating to the happiness of homeless people. Last but not least, we also suggested the policy implication for the case of homeless people in Thailand. © 2020 AJHTL /Author/s-Open Access.