Newspaper coverage of runaway in China

This exploratory, descriptive study examines the coverage of Chinese-medium newspapers on runaway youth in China from 2000 to 2008. We found 209 newspaper articles reporting runaway cases from a sample of 27 Chinese newspapers. Consistent with what has been reported in the Western literature, family- and school-related problems account for the main reasons for many runaway cases. We also learned of other triggers to runaway that are unique in China. These unique factors include Internet addiction, falling in virtual love, escape from poverty, and searching for parents. Drawing from the data, we made several recommendations on the provisions for the runaways in China. [Copyright Elsevier B.V.]