Taxonomy of Runaway Youth

• NCJ Number: 70861
• Journal: Social Service Review Volume: 50 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1976) Pages: 457-470
• Author(s): F W Dunford; T Brennan
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study develops a taxonomy of runaway youth that indicates that runaway behavior is not a one dimensional activity--young people run away for a wide assortment of reasons.

Abstract

Several classes of runaways are empirically delineated and described. Typology construction was based on data obtained from a runaway youth hostel in Nevada; interviews were conducted with 53 local runaway youths as they were admitted into the runaway facility. Scales were developed to measure the variables known to be associated with runaway behavior. The full set of scaled variables were then subjected to a minimum variance hierarchical cluster analysis involving the fusion of sample members on the basis of their mutual similarity. On the basis of the mean scores generated from the predictor variable for each type emerging from the cluster analysis, six profiles of runaway youth were developed: self-confident and unrestrained runaway girls; well-adjusted runaway youth; double failures (at home and at school) with high delinquency involvement; youths fleeing excessive parental control; young, highly regulated, and negatively influenced youth; and young and unrestrained youth. A review of the profiles of the unrestrained runaway girls and the young and unrestrained youth indicates that both these types shared a common characteristic--both had an unusual amount of freedom relative to other runaway types profiled. Conversely, those youths with double failures and high delinquency involvement and those fleeing restrictive parents had many of the characteristics commonly associated with runaway behavior. Thus, the taxonomy suggests the existence of a variety of runaway types, with many types not characterized by attributes commonly associated with such youth. If runaway behavior is indeed multidimensional, research and treatment strategies must begin to deal with the variability involved. A table and 30 notes accompany the study.