NCJ Number
222435
Journal
Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 230-251
Date Published
May 2008
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Using Data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study identified predictors of running away from home among a diverse sample of adolescents ages 12 through 13.
Abstract
One consistent finding was that regardless of race/ethnicity, girls were more likely to run away from home than boys. Although the study was limited in its ability to measure experiences with abuse and neglect, it suggests that one explanation for this gender factor is that girls experience higher rates of sexual abuse in the home, providing more motivation for them to seek safety or a better life by running away from home. The study also found that African-Americans and Hispanic adolescents were less likely to run away from home compared to White adolescents. Adolescents from disorganized homes, including those with poor parenting, were more likely to run away, as were adolescents who experienced a high risk of personal victimization in their neighborhoods. Adolescents who had negative experiences at school were also more likely to run away. In addition, adolescents with high rates of delinquent behavior were more likely to run away from home, confirming previous study findings. Although the study has no empirical evidence to explain the surprising finding that minority youth were less likely to run away from home, given that they would likely be at higher risk for some of the other variables related to running away, the authors suggest some explanations. One explanation is that minority youth have a higher tolerance for adverse situations as a given feature of their environment. The study began with a sample size of 1,690 youth, and it retained only those cases with complete data and no history of running away during the initial wave of the analyses. The dependent variable (running away) was measured in 1999, 2000, and 2001. 2 tables and 46 references