title: Engaging Street-Involved Youth in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: A Secondary Analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this secondary analysis was to identify factors associated with engagement of street-involved youth in a Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional correlational study. Youth were recruited from two agencies providing services to street-involved youth in Canada. Mental health indicators were selected for this secondary analysis to gain a better understanding of characteristics that may account for levels of engagement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three distinct groups of participants were identified in the data, a) youth who expressed intention to engage, but did not start DBT (n=16); b) youth who started DBT but subsequently dropped out (n=39); and c) youth who completed the DBT intervention (n=67). Youth who did engage in the DBT intervention demonstrated increased years of education; increased depressive symptoms and suicidality; and lower levels of resilience and self-esteem compared to youth participants who did not engage in the intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings indicate that it is possible to engage street-involved youth in a DBT intervention who exhibit a high degree of mental health challenges. Despite the growing literature describing the difficult psychological and interpersonal circumstances of street-involved youth, there remains limited research regarding the process of engaging these youth in service.
authors.affiliation: Utilization Coordinator, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Whitby, Ontario.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynk
authors.affiliation: Research Chair in Urban Health and Associate Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McCay
authors.affiliation: Research Coordinator, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Celina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.affiliation: Research Coordinator, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Andria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aiello
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Faith
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Donald
keywords: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy; engagement; homeless youth; street-involved youth