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National Runaway Switchboard
Publication Date: 2007
he National Runaway Switchboard, established in 1971, serves as the federally-designated national communication system for homeless and runaway youth. Recognized as the oldest hotline of its kind in the world, NRS, with the support of more than 150 volunteers, handles an average of 100,000 calls annually – more than 3 million calls since the organization’s inception. NRS provides crisis intervention, referrals to local resources, and education and prevention services to youth, famili...
Tags: youth; runaways
1 Recommendations
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Deviant Behavior and Victimization Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents
Authors: Whitbeck, Les ; Hoyt, Dan; Yoder, Kevin; Cauce, Ana Mari; Paradise, Matt
Journal Name: Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Publication Date: 2001
This study used a high-risk population of runaway and homeless adolescents to investigate the effects of a history of caretaker abuse and deviant subsistence strategies on victimization among adolescents. Based on a multisite sample of 974 homeless and runaway adolescents, logistic regression models were used first to examine factors predicting involvement in sexual and nonsexual deviant subsistence strategies and then to investigate the effects of deviant subsistence strategies on p...
Tags: youth; runaways; background and context; violence
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Histories of Sexual Abuse in Adolescent Male Runaways
Authors: Janus, M.; Burgess, A.; McCormack, A.
Journal Name: Adolescence
Publication Date: 1987
In this study, data on sexual victimization in the histories of 89 Canadian male runaways as well as information on physical victimization, family structure, family financial stability, delinquent and criminal activities, and reasons for running away from home were evaluated. The population of male runaways evidenced dramatically higher rates of sexual and physical abuse than did randomly sampled populations. Sexually abused and nonsexually abused male runaways shared charac...
Tags: population; sexual abuse; health; adolescents; runaways; crime; domestic violence; Sexual/Reproductive Care; youth
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Homeless and Runaway Youths' Access to Health Care
Authors: Klein, Jonathan; Woods, Amie; Wilson, Karen M. ; Prospero, Moises; Greene, Jody; Ringwalt, Chris
Journal Name: Journal of Adolescent Health
Publication Date: 2000
...with a regular source of care were more likely to use nonemergency sites than those without a source of primary care (46% vs. 20%; p = .001). Few sheltered or street youth perceived shelter clinics, clinics for runaway youth, or free youth clinics to be available to meet their emergency care needs.
Conclusions: Significant numbers of homeless youth did not have a regular source of health care. Those who had a regular source of care were more likely to have continuity between routine and e...
Tags: health; health care systems; youth; runaways; emergency shelters
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Substance Use Among Runaway and Homeless Youth in Three National Samples
Authors: Greene, Jody; Ennett, Susan; Ringwalt, Christopher
Journal Name: American Journal of Public Health
Publication Date: 1997
OBJECTIVES: Standardized estimates of the prevalence of substance use by runaway and homeless youth between the ages of 12 and 21 in various settings were compared with each other and with estimates for youth in the general population. METHODS: Four surveys were used: (1) a nationally representative survey of runaway and homeless youth residing in federally and non-federally funded shelters; (2) a multicity survey of street youth; (3) a nationally representative household survey of y...
Tags: substance use; youth; runaways
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Homeless, Runaway & Throwaway Youth: Sexual Victimization and the Consequences of Life on the Street
Authors: Anderson, Janet
Journal Name: Research & Advocacy Digest
Publication Date: 2004
Homelessness among young people is a serious and complex issue. On any given night, the National Runaway Switchboard estimates that there are approximately 1.3 million homeless, throwaway, and runaway youth living unsupervised on the streets, in abandoned buildings, in shelters, transitional housing, with friends, or with strangers. The problem of homeless youth should be viewed as a social justice issue with its underlying roots based in all forms of oppression (including racism, se...
Tags: youth; runaways; street population
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Pregnancy Among Three National Samples of Runaway and Homeless Youth
Authors: Greene, Jody; Ringwalt, Christopher
Journal Name: Journal of Adolescent Health
Publication Date: 1998
Purpose: To compare estimates of the prevalence of pregnancy among runaway and homeless youth between the ages of 14 and 17 years in various settings with each other and with youth in the general population.
Methods: Comparisons used three surveys of youth: (a) the first nationally representative survey of runaway and homeless youth residing in federally and nonfederally funded shelters, (b) a multicity survey of street youth, and (c) a nationally representative household survey of...
Tags: youth; runaways; street population
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Who Runs? a Demographic Profile of Runaway Youth in the United States
Authors: Sanchez, Rebecca; Waller, Martha; Greene, Jody
Journal Name: Journal of Adolescent Health
Publication Date: 2006
Prevention and treatment programs for runaways have been hindered by an inadequate population profile. Using Add Health data to determine 12-month prevalence and demographic predictors of running away, we found that over 6% of youths reported running away. Running was predicted by biological gender, age, region, urbanicity, and family structure. (Authors)
Tags: health; runaways; prevention; treatment
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Juvenile Runaways: Problem Specific Guide Series No. 37.
Authors: Dedel, Kelly
Publication Date: 2006
The Problem-Specific Guides summarize knowledge about how police can reduce the harm caused by specific crime and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention and to improving the overall response to incidents, not to investigating offenses or handling specific incidents. The guides are written for police - of whatever rank or assignment - who must address the specific problem the guides cover. (Author)
Tags: youth; runaways; criminal justice
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Personal Victimization in a High-Risk Environment: Homeless and Runaway Adolescents
Authors: Hoyt, Dan; Ryan, Kimberly; Cauce, Ana
Journal Name: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
Publication Date: 1999
Criminal opportunity theories identify four basic constructs that are central to models of victimization: proximity, exposure, victim attractiveness, and guardianship. Proximity was controlled, allowing the examination of the potential effects of exposure, victim attractiveness, and guardianship in more detail. Discrete-time event history models were used to estimate the contemporary-time predictors of personal victimization and the time-lagged effect of prior victimization from a five-wave longitudin...
Tags: runaways; youth
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Street Life: Aggravated and Sexual Assaults Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents
Authors: Terrell, Nathaniel
Journal Name: Youth & Society
Publication Date: 1997
This article examines aggravated and sexual assaults among 240 runaway and homeless adolescents in Des Moines, Iowa. Unlike previous research studies on homeless and runaway adolescents that used small samples, limiting these samples to persons in youth shelters, and/or used clinical data, the current study contacted homeless and runaway adolescents where they congregated and lived. A social learning approach to victimization was used to show that deviant behavior among adol...
Tags: youth; runaways; violence; sexual violence
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How Runaway and Homeless Youth Navigate Troubled Waters: Personal Strengths and Resources
Authors: Lindsey, Elizabeth; Kurtz, P. David; Jarvis, Sara; Williams, Nancy; Nackerud, Larry
Journal Name: Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
Publication Date: 2000
Little attention has been paid to how runaway or homeless adolescents are able to make successful transitions into adulthood. This article reports on partial findings from an exploratory study of the research question, How do formerly runaway and homeless adolescents navigate the troubled waters of leaving home, living in high-risk environments, and engaging in dangerous behaviors, to make successful developmental transitions into young adulthood? This qualitative study involved inte...
Tags: youth; runaways; youth transitioning into adulthood
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Prevalence and Correlates of Survival Sex Among Runaway and Homeless Youth
Authors: Greene, Jody; Ennett, Susan; Ringwalt, Christopher
Journal Name: American Journal of Public Health
Publication Date: 1999
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of survival sex among runaway and homeless youths.
METHODS: A nationally representative sample of shelter youths and a multicity sample of street youths were interviewed.
RESULTS: Approximately 28% of street youths and 10% of shelter youths reported having participated in survival sex, which was associated with age, days away from home, victimization, criminal behaviors, substance use, suicide attempts, sexually transmitted...
Tags: youth; runaways; street population; health; sexual health
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Sexual abuse history and associated multiple risk behavior in adolescent runaways
Authors: Rotheram-Borus, M. J. ; Mahler, K. A. ; Koopman, C. ; Langabeer, K.
Journal Name: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
Publication Date: 1996
Relationships between sexual abuse and sexual risk, substance use, emotional distress, and conduct problems were examined among 190 runaways. Those who had been abused were significantly more likely than nonabused peers to engage in unprotected sex, have more sexual partners, and use alcohol and drugs, but did not differ in emotional distress. Those abused after age 13 were more often engaged in sex work than nonabused peers. Males abused before age 13 had more sexual partners than those...
Tags: sexual abuse; sexual risk; substance use; runaways
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Predictors of Social Network Composition Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents
Authors: Johnson, K. D.; Whitbeck, L. B.; Hoyt, D. R.
Journal Name: Journal of Adolescence
Publication Date: 2005
Recent research on the social support networks of homeless and runaway youth suggest the social networks of runaway youth are made up largely of transient deviant peer relationships. This paper examined social network characteristics of 428 homeless and runaway adolescents from small-to moderate-sized cities in four Midwestern states. We investigated size, homogeneity, and correlates of the composition of the instrumental and emotional support networks as reported by the ado...
Tags: social support groups; adolescents; sexual identity; social networks; homeless people; runaways; discrimination; domestic violence; youth
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Social Network Characteristics Associated with Risky Behaviors Among Runaway and Homeless Youth
Authors: Ennett, Susan; Bailey, Susan L. ; Federman, E. Belle
Journal Name: Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Publication Date: 1999
Runaway and homeless youth are at high risk for substance abuse and unsafe sexual behavior. Our study describes the personal and social networks of these youth and examines network characteristics associated with risky behaviors. In 1995 and 1996, we interviewed a purposive sample of youth aged 14 through 21 who were living in Washington, DC and were identified on the streets or through shelters or other service agencies (N = 327). Although we found that most youth reported current social...
Tags: youth; substance use; runaways; prevention; risk and protective factors; supportive services; social support
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Differences and predictors of family reunification among subgroups of runaway youths using shelter services
Authors: Thompson, S. J. ; Safyer, A. W. ; Pollio, D. E.
Journal Name: Social Work Research
Publication Date: 2001
Community-based youth shelters represent the primary method of intervention for runaway youths and are mandated to reunify youths with their families. The study discussed in this article pursued two research questions: (1) What are the differences among runaway–homeless, throwaway, and independent youths? (2) What youth demographics, personal characteristics, and family factors predict youth's reunification? The Runaway Homeless Youth Management Information System (RHYMIS),...
Tags: youth; runaways
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Examining Risk Factors Associated with Family Reunification for Runaway Youth: Does Ethnicity Matter?
Authors: Thompson, Sanna; Kost, Kathleen; Pollio, David
Journal Name: Family Relations
Publication Date: 2003
Investigates the likelihood of family reunification across ethnic groups of youth using runaway shelter services nationwide. Youths who reported abuse or neglect by their parental figures or had parent(s) who were unemployed were less likely to reunify following a runaway episode. However, completing youth shelter services markedly increased the likelihood of reunification. Discusses implications for cultural sensitivity in service delivery. (Authors)
Tags: families; youth; runaways
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Agency-based Tracking of Difficult-to-follow Populations: Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs in St. Louis Missouri
Authors: Pollio, David; Thompson, Sanna; North, Carol
Journal Name: Community Mental Health Journal
Publication Date: 2000
Objectives. This study explored agency-based tracking methods for one of the most difficult-to-follow populations: runaway and homeless youth.
Methods. A total of 118 program discharges from three federally funded agencies serving runaway/homeless youth in St. Louis, Missouri were tracked for a follow-up study of this population. Agency staff attempted to locate and interview program participants three months post-discharge using a protocol that systematically varied times and locat...
Tags: families; youth; runaways
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Service Utilization Among Homeless and Runaway Youth in Los Angeles, California: Rates and Reasons
Authors: De Rosa, Christine; Montgomery, Susanne; Kipke, Michele; Iverson, Ellen; Ma, Joanne; Unger, Jennifer
Journal Name: Journal of Adolescent Health
Publication Date: 1999
Purpose: To describe the service utilization patterns of homeless and runaway youth in a “service-rich” area of Los Angeles, California; identify demographic and other correlates of utilization; and contextualize the findings with qualitative data.
Method: During Phase 1 of this study, survey data were collected from an ethnically diverse sample of 296 youth aged 13–23 years, recruited from both service and natural “hang-out” sites using systematic sampling methods. During Phase 2, qualitati...
Tags: youth; services; runaways