Publication year
2006
Citation Title
Impact of family abuse on running away, deviance, and street victimization among homeless rural and urban youth.
Journal Name
Child Abuse & Neglect
Journal Volume
30
Issue Number
10
Page Numbers
1117-1128
DOI
10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.03.008
Summary
Many demographic and familial risk factors are related to adolescent runaway behaviors. By interviewing 602 adolescents living on the street, the study examined the relations among family abuse, community size, runaway behaviors, and street victimization. Results showed that adolescent runaway behaviors are linked to family abuse and community size prior to the first time adolescents run away.
Key Findings
Destructive familial relations (e.g., neglect and sexual abuse) decreased the age at first runaway.
Neglect and sexual abuse prior to first runaway were also positively associated with adolescents' street victimization.
Rural adolescents were more likely to use deviant subsistence strategies (i.e., relying upon various sexual and non-sexual means to get money, food, shelter, etc.), and they tended to remain in abusive homes longer than urban adolescents.
Implications for Military Professionals
Educate military parents on effective parenting practices and good parenting styles
Work closely with military youth who may be at risk of running away and provide them with support needed
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide workshops for military parents that aim to prevent family abuse and adolescent runaway
Offer support groups for military adolescents who had been abused or neglected
Implications for Policy Makers
Raise awareness of the detrimental effects of child abuse and neglect for military youth
Encourage training for professionals who work with adolescents on the street regarding how to help them avoid street victimization
Methods
Participants were selected from Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas based on convenience.
Data were collected through individual interviews, and measures included age at first runaway, deviant subsistence strategies, street victimization, and history of abuse and neglect prior to first runaway.
Participants were divided into rural and urban groups based on the community size they used to live in before the first runaway.
Participants
Participants were 602 adolescents who were homeless; 60% of them were female.
The average ages of the female and male participants were 16 years and 16.6 years, respectively (age range = 12-22 years).
Most of the participants were White (61%), followed by Black (24%), Latino (3%), Native American (3%), and other (9%).
Limitations
All measures were solely based on interviewing the adolescents, so the results may be biased by adolescents' own perspectives.
A convenient sample was used in the study; without random selection, the sample may not represent the general targeted population.
The cross-sectional design of the study does not allow examination of the causal relationships among family abuse, adolescent runaway, and street victimization.
Avenues for Future Research
Conduct longitudinal studies to examine the causal relationship between family abuse and adolescent runaway behaviors
Investigate strategies and design parent education programs to prevent adolescent runaway behaviors
Randomly select adolescent runaways with a diverse background so that the sample may better represent the general targeted population
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Problem: Various demographic and familial risk factors have been linked to runaway behavior. To date, there has not been a systematic investigation of the impact of size of community on runaway behavior. This study will compare runaways from smaller cities and rural areas to their urban counterparts. Methods: A convenience sample of 602 adolescents was interviewed between 1995 and August of 1996 in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, USA. Multiple regression was used to examine the association between gender, neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse, geographic and family structure change, and community size of first runaway to predict age at first runaway, deviant subsistence strategies, and street victimization. Results: Findings indicate that adolescents exposed to neglect (? =?.20) and sexual abuse (? =?.16) ran away sooner and were more likely to be victimized on the street. Rural adolescents who experienced higher levels of physical abuse relied more heavily on deviant subsistence strategies (? = .15) and remained in abusive homes longer (? = .15) than their similarly situated urban counterparts. Conclusions: Rural youth who have been subjected to elevated levels of familial abuse are at greater risk of deviant subsistence strategies, which increase the likelihood of street victimization.
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