From Leaving Home to Losing Identity: A Qualitative Study on Rough Sleeping in Drug Addicts in Iran

 The phenomenon of rough sleeping in big cities of Iran, particularly in Tehran is a serious social problem. The term rough sleeping is mostly used for those who sleep on the public spaces including pavements, parks or under bridges. It is assumed that rough sleeping and drug addiction are linked to each other. This study aims to evaluate the process of rough sleeping based on the experiences of homeless drug addicted in Iran.

This is a qualitative research. Participants were 20 homeless addicts (9 males and 11 females, mean age= 36.2 years) in Tehran city who were recruited using a purposive sampling method, and sampling continued until data saturation. The data were collected through a semi-structured in-depth interview and observations. Data analysis was performed based on the grounded theory recommended by Strauss and Corbin (1998).

The rough sleeping process had two steps: (a) Leaving home voluntarily (to protect family or escape from family problems) or involuntarily (Due to being expelled from home and losing the roof over the head), and (b) Being homelessness which had four main categories: Elusive life, informal and contravened subsistence, involving in exploitative relationships, and loss of individual/social identity.

 When leaving home and becoming rough sleeper, the individual becomes elusive, delinquent, damaged and socially rejected homeless, in addition to the risk of becoming a drug addict. Therefore, this group can be considered as a severely injured group involved in various social, legal and psychological issues. Given the complexity of the homelessness aspects in drug addicts, there is a need for coordinated interventions between individuals, families and the support systems at all levels.