title: Two-year predictors of runaway and homeless episodes following shelter services among substance abusing adolescents.
abstract: Given high levels of health and psychological costs associated with the family disruption of homelessness, identifying predictors of runaway and homeless episodes is an important goal. The current study followed 179 substance abusing, shelter-recruited adolescents who participated in a randomized clinical trial. Predictors of runaway and homeless episodes were examined over a two year period. Results from the hierarchical linear modeling analysis showed that family cohesion and substance use, but not family conflict or depressive symptoms, delinquency, or school enrollment predicted future runaway and homeless episodes. Findings suggest that increasing family support, care and connection and reducing substance use are important targets of intervention efforts in preventing future runaway and homeless episodes amongst a high risk sample of adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University, 135 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210, USA. slesnick.5@osu.edu
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Slesnick
authors.forename: Xiamei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Brittany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brakenhoff
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005191:Family Characteristics; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011638:Public Housing; D012419:Runaway Behavior / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D012574:Schools; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Family; Recidivism; Runaway and homeless adolescents; Runaway shelter services; Substance abuse