Characteristics of troubled youths in a shelter

The purposes of this descriptive study were to: (a) describe the identifiable characteristics of a population of runaway youths; (b) describe certain aspects of the youths' current and past situations, such as alcohol and drug use/abuse and a history of physical or sexual abuse; (c) identify significant life events by means of the Coddington Life Events Scale (LES); and (d) examine possible ways in which health and mental health practitioners can best assist these youths and their families through times of crisis. A convenience sample of 78 runaway youths was drawn from an available population of 780 youths who were admitted to a runaway shelter, during the 7-month period of the study. The shelter is located in a semiurban community in north central Florida. Data collection instruments included the Structured Clinical Interview Instrument and the LES. These were administered to volunteer youth participants during the face-to-face interviews. Data from the current study support the assertion that many runaway youths live in abusive situations and are exposed to drugs and alcohol from a variety of sources. Furthermore, the high scores on the LES show insurmountable levels of stressful life events that occur at any given time. Researchers recommend that prevention programs focusing on the antecedents of runaway behavior be developed to prevent future runaway episodes.