Runaway Adolescents

1
Runaway Adolescents

• Amber Rackler
• Jenna Schuehler
• Kandace McKinney
• Melissa Hartman
• Ashley Chesnutt

2
Stats

• Estimated that 1 million runaway each year and 1
  million worldwide 1 3
  
• Older adolescents more often than younger 3
• Multiple Runaways
• More likely to be female
• More likely to have school problems
• Have higher family conflict
• Report of higher strictness 3

3
Classes of Runaways

• Intent Runaways
• Those who, when they leave home, really mean to
  flee 1
  
• Transient Runaways
• Those who leave more at the spur of the moment
  and do not intend to stay for more than a few
  hours or a day or two 1

4
Intent Runaways
5
Transient Runaways
6
Reasons for Running Away

• Deserted by their parents because of parental
  death or divorce 1

• Parents could not cope with their childs sexual
  orientation 1

7
Reasons for Running Away

• Left home after being sexually and emotionally
  abused by their parents 1
  
• 70 of runaways 2

• Left or thrown out by their parents because of
  their substance abuse problems 1
  
• 71 of runaways in Southern CA met criteria for
  substance abuse 2

8
Reasons for Running Away

• Left or thrown out by their parents because they
  have long standing mental health problems 1

• Thrown out by parents 1

9
Reasons for Running Away
Gender Differences

• Female runaway and homeless adolescents reported
  higher rates of childhood sexual abuse compared
  to their male counterparts 2

• 73 of female homeless and runaways suffered
  sexual abuse, while 38 of males were sexually
  abused while at home 2

10
Throwaways

• Adolescents who have been told to leave home 1
• 44 had been thrown out of their homes 1

11
Throwaways

• What motivates a family to sever all ties with an
  adolescent child?
  
• The parents are distressed at their children's
  incorrigible behavior
  
• The child has a long standing mental illness,
  which makes them hard to live with
  
• The child has engaged in incest with a sibling or
  with one of the parents
  
• Their parents are in dire poverty and need the
  older children to defend for themselves 1

12
Throwaways
13
Results of Runaway/Homelessness

• Truancy
• Suspensions
• Expulsions
• Dropping Out
• Low self-esteem
• Suicidal ideation
• Depression 3

14
Life on the Street

• Homeless youths are usually victimized when
  living on the street 2
  
• Boys were more often robbed, whereas girls were
  more commonly sexually assaulted 2

15
Life on the Street

• Turn to a life of crime, in order to get by. 1
• Examples Drug dealing, shoplifting, and theft 1
• Estimates of 75 of hard-core street youth engage
  in some form of crime 1

16
Life on the Street

• Engage in survival sex where they swap sexual
  favors for food or shelter 1
  
• Estimates of 50 engage in either prostitution or
  survival sex 1

17
Life on the Street

• Have a higher risk of contracting STDs and HIV
  because of their drug use and their multiple sex
  partners 1
  
• Have higher rates of psychological problems and
  are at a higher risk to commit suicide 1

18
Help for Runaways

• The National Runaway Youth Program
• Provides assistance to youths who are vulnerable
  to exploitation and to dangerous encounters 1

19
Help for Runaways

• National Toll-Free Communication System
• Enables youths to contact their families and/or
  centers where they can get help 1
  

20
Help for Runaways

• Shelters Gives runaways a place to stay 1
• Transitional Living Program
• Assist older, homeless youths, including pregnant
  and parenting teens, in developing skills and
  resources to promote their development into
  healthy, independent adults, secure stable,
  permanent housing and prevent their future
  dependency on social services, public assistance
  and emergency shelter. They can stay there for up
  to 540 days or 18 months 6

21
Help for Runaways

• Street Outreach Programs
• Funds local youth service providers to conduct
  street-based education and outreach and to offer
  emergency shelter and related services to young
  people who have been, or who are at risk of
  being, sexually abused or exploited 6

22
Help for Runaways

• The National Runaway Switchboard (hotline)
• 1-800-621-4000 6
• A confidential telephone information, referral
  and counseling service for runaway and homeless
  youths and their families 6

23
Drugs and Abuse

• Homeless/Runaway Adolescents use of drugs is 5
  times higher than their home based peers 3
  

24
Drugs and Abuse

• Although Drug abuse is seen in both home based
  and runaway/homeless teens as a result of sexual
  abuse, it is more prevalent in homeless/runaway
  teens 5
• 69.3 of females, when asked, had used drugs in
  the past 12 months. (no abuse difference) 5
  
• 1/3 use multiple drugs
• Females with abuse history showed more use of
  multiple drugs than those who hadnt 5
  

25
Drugs and Abuse

• Sexual abuse has also been found to have a
  positive correlation with the number of times an
  adolescent has run away. 3
  
• In one study
• 27 non-white females
• 35 white females
• No significant difference 3

26
Drugs and Abuse

• Abusive homes also shows a correlation with the
  tendency to use sex to trade for food, money and
  shelter 3
  
• Because teens dont have the ability to take care
  of themselves and provide, there is a high
  probability that adolescents on the streets will
  act with deviant behavior (stealing,
  prostitution, trading and using drugs) to provide
  for themselves. 3
• Survival Sex-common term
• Comes with high levels of STIs and HIV 3

27
Message Home Study
28
Message Home Study

• Message Home is a UK effort to allow runaways to
  contact home safely and confidentially. They did
  a study on why the adolescents left, where they
  went missing from, was it forced or their choice,
  how long they had been gone and at what point did
  they decide to contact the helpline. 4

29
Message Home Study

• 78 ran away from home or care
• 22 said they were forced from family homes
• No gender differences
• The average age for running away is 13

30
Message Home Study

• When asked why the left home?
• 28 claimed problems they didnt want to talk
  about
  
• 35 claimed conflict with parents
• 24 claimed abuse from a family member
• 7 claimed stress at school
• 2 claimed bullying was the problem
• A small percent admitted to emotional
  issues/mental health 4
  

31
Message Home Study

• When asked why they were forced to leave?
• The reasons were very similar to the reasons
  that were given by those who said they chose to
  leave. 4

32
Message Home Study

• Contacting Home
• 58 called the day they left
• 89 within 3 days of leaving
• 6 a week later
• 2 a month later 4

33
References

• 1. Rice, F.P. Dolgin, K.G. (2005). The
  adolescent Development, relationships and
  culture (11th ed.) Boston Pearson
  
• 2. Chen, Xiaojin Hoyt, Dan Tyler, Kimberly
  Whitbeck, Les. (2004). Early Sexual Abuse,
  Street Adversity, and Drug Use Among Female
  Homeless and Runaway Adolescents in the Midwest.
  The Journal of Drug Issues, 34 (1), 1- 22.
• 3. Auville, Alicia Baker, Amy Lynn, Cynthia
  McKay, Mary Schlange, Hans. (2003). Recidivism
  at a shelter for adolescents First-time versus
  repeat runaways. Social Work Research, 27 (2),
  84-93.
• 4. Mitchell, Fiona. (2003). Can I come home?
  The experiences of young runaways contacting the
  Message Home helpline. Child and Family Social
  Work, 8 (1), 3- 11.
• 5. Hoyt, Dan Johnson, Kurt and Whitbeck, Les.
  (2005). Substance Abuse Disorders Among Homeless
  and Runaway Adolescents. The Journal of Drug
  Issues, 22, 799-816.
• 6. Administration for Children Families. Family
  and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB).
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