Strategies for resilience in adverse situations involving evictions

Abstract

In recent years in Spain, evictions have become an emerging social phenomenon, of interest for both research and intervention by social action professionals. However, there are insufficient studies related to this adverse situation, particularly concerning the resilient responses that people are able to offer when faced with it. This research was carried out in order to identify the internal and external factors present in the experience of families who experience eviction processes and that are enabling them to develop resilient strategies in the face of such adversity. The research involved the participation of 20 subjects, belonging to families forming part of the Platform for Mortgage Victims (Plataforma de Afectados por las Hipotecas, or PAH) in Malaga. The participants underwent a semi-structured interview, which permitted the definition of the socio-family characteristics of the affected persons, the different coping strategies they developed, the main sources of support on which they relied, as well as the concerns they have had. The results show the main internal and external factors that are present in the resilient strategies developed by families in the course of the evictions they have experienced and highlight the PAH as a source of informational support. The conclusion is that there is a need to continue with this line of research to seek to design interventions that reinforce and encourage coping strategies for adverse situations involving eviction.