Recidivism at a shelter for adolescents: first-time versus repeat runaways.

This article presents the results of a study that examined child and family influences on recidivism for 166 youths admitted to a shelter. The youths fell into two groups: (1) those who had run away before (repeat runaways) and (2) those who had run away for the first time (first-time runaways). Results indicated divergent pathways to shelter use and return within a 12-month period between these subgroups. Youth emotional problems were significantly related to recidivism for repeat runaways, whereas family changes and length of stay at the shelter were significantly related to recidivism for first-time runaways. Implications for design and delivery of a system of care to meet the complex mental health needs of runaway adolescents are discussed.

Key words: mental health problems; recidivism; runaways; shelter

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Runaway behavior among adolescents in the United States is a significant public policy issue that has serious implications for the physical and emotional well-being of youths (American Medical Association, 1989). It has been estimated that as many as 1 million adolescents run away from home each year (Finkelhor, Hotaling, & Sedlack, 1990). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (1995), approximately 14 percent of youths in the United States have stayed overnight at an "at-risk" location (for example, bus station, abandoned building, car, park, or street) or at a shelter at least once within a one-year period.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Some of the factors associated with young people leaving home have been identified in the research literature. Specifically, there is empirical support for youth and family characteristics, youth problems, and parental problems. Youth and family characteristics associated with running away include race, gender, and age, as well as living arrangements and changes in family structure. For example, youths of color and youths not living with parents are overrepresented in the runaway population (CDC, 1995; Greene, Ennett,...

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