Anooshian, L. (2005). Violence and aggression in the lives of homeless children: A review. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 10, 129-152.

Key Points: Intervention programs for homeless children and families must address violence and aggressions to be effective.

Summary: Homeless children are exposed to violence in many ways. Other than the inherent danger of living on the street, homeless children are often exposed to violence in relation to the experience of their homeless mothers. Homeless women report extraordinary levels of violence in their lives. Many women become homeless as a result of domestic violence, making it likely that their children have witnessed abuse from, or have been abused themselves by, an absent parent. In addition, homeless children may experience ongoing violence in their relationship with a homeless parent. There are many consequences of violence in the lives of homeless children and their families, the most pervasive of which is social isolation. Other consequences include behavior problems, aggression with peers, rejection, lack of trust, and many other issues related to poor parenting.

Multiple factors related to homelessness and violence intersect in the lives of homeless children, and many theories of youth violence can be related to these factors (which are reviewed in this article).

Topics: Adolescent/high school; underserved populations

Hyde, J. (2005). From home to street: Understanding young people's transitions into homelessness. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 171-183.

Key Points: Service providers need to recognize the agency of young homeless people in order to work with them effectively.

Summary: Fifty homeless youth in Los Angeles, California, were interviewed concerning why they left home and become homeless. Although abuse and negelect at home played a part in the decision for many of these youths, they maintained a sense of agency concerning their decision to leave. Service providers often portray homeless youth as victims without recognizing their agency and ability to make decisions for themselves.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; underserved populations

Kidd, S. & Scrimenti, K. (2004). Evaluating child and youth homelessness. Evaluation Review, 28, 325-341.

Key Points: This article presents an effective means of surveying homeless youth in an urban setting.

Summary: This article describes an extensive effort to survey homeless youth in New Haven, Connecticut. Many issues related to surveying homeless youth are discussed. The findings of the survey suggest that approximately 1,688 children are homeless in New Haven each year, which is proportionally similar to larger urban areas. Their mothers are usually single with one or two children, and face significant difficult with meeting their most essential needs.

The strengths of the survey design used were its thoroughness and cost efficiency. From conducting the survey, the authors determined that accessing homeless youth on their own in small urban settings is more difficuly that in large urban setting. This is because fewer youth-oriented services are available in smaller cities.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; prevalence

Lankenau, S., Clatts, M., Welle, D., Goldsamt, L., & Gwadz, M. (2005). Street careers: Homelessness, drug use, and sex work among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). International Journal of Drug Policy, 16, 10-18.

Key Points: Effective social policies and interventions will recognize that homelessness, drug involvement, and sex work are interrelated aspects of the street economy.

Summary: This article describes ethnographic interviews with ten young, homeless men who have sex with men in New York City. It describes the "street capital" these men have accumulated as they have participated in the street economy as sex workers, and the "street competencies" these men have learned while surviving on the street.

The article argues that these men began to accumulate "street capital" at an early age through experiences in various institutions, including their family, foster care, schools, hospitals, and jails. Combined with homelessness, different types of street capital combined with street competencies to result in street careers as sex workers participating in the street economy.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender; underserved populations

Rew, L., Whittaker, T., Taylor-Seehafer, M., & Smith, L. (2005). Sexual health risks and protective resources in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual homeless youth. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 10, 11-19.

Key Points: Services for homeless youth should be specific for both gender and sexual orientation.

Summary: This article compares the sexual health risks taken by homeless youth who identify as gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual to those taken by homeless youth who identify as heterosexual. Survey data collected from 425 homeless adolescents between 16 and 20 years of age were analyzed.

More gay and lesbian youth reported sexual abuse, and being tested and treated for HIV than heterosexual youth. Gay and lesbian youth also scored lower on measures of assertive communication. Among gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual respondents, more males than females identified as homosexual and more females than males identified as bi-sexual.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender; underserved populations

Tyler, K., Cauce, A., & Whitbeck, L. (2004). Family risk factors and prevalence of dissociative symptoms among homeless and runaway youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 355.

Key Points: Programs and interventions that detect and deal with dissociative symptoms in homeless youth can help them to cope with this mental health issue.

Summary: This article describes an analysis of interviews with 328 homeless and runaway youth in Seattle, Washington. These interviews were conducted to examine family risk factors for dissociative symptoms among these youths. Dissociative symptoms are experienced as altered consciousness and memory, which results in a trance-like state or perception. Dissociative behavior is an impaired mental state, and can be detrimental to overall mental health.

This study reveals that dissociative symptoms are widespread among homeless youth. These symptoms are correlated with experiences of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and having a history of familial mental health problems. The study found no differences between genders.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; underserved populations

Tyler, K., Whitbeck, L., Hoyt, D., & Cauce, A. (2004). Risk factors for sexual victimization among male and female homeless and runaway youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19, 503-520.

Key Points: Risk factors for sexual victimization differ between male and female homeless youth.

Summary: Three-hundred and seventy-two homeless youth were interviewed, in order to examine the risk factors associated with being sexually victimized in this population. The study revealed that, for females, leaving home for the first time at an earlier age was associated with being victimized by an acquaintance or stranger. Engaging in deviant subsistence strategies, engaging in survival sex, and grooming (having a clean or pleasing physical appearance) were associated with being victimized by an aquaintance.

For males, victimization by strangers was associated with survival sex and grooming. Sexual orientation was associated with victimization by an aquaintance. Thirty-five percent of the total sample of homeless youth reported having been sexually victimized.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; prevalence; underserved populations

Whitbeck, L., Chen, X., Hoyt, D., Tyler, K., & Johnson, K. (2004). Mental disorder, subsistence strategies, and victimization among gay, lesbian, and bisexual homeless and runaway adolescents. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 329-342.

Key Points: Gay, lesbian, and bisexual homeless youth are more likely to have been sexually and physically abused by caretakers or on the streets, to engage in risky survival strategies, and to meet the criteria for a mental disorder than heterosexual homeless youth.

Summary: This study examined participation in deviant subsistence strategies, having been physically or sexually victimized while homeless, and lifetime prevalence of five mental disorders among self-identified heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual homeless adolescents in four Midwestern states. The mental disorders under consideration were conduct disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse.

The study revealed that gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents were more likely than heterosexuals to have been physically or sexually abused by caretakers, to engage in high-risk survival strategies (such as survival sex), to be physically and sexually victimized while homeless, and to meet the criteria for one of the mental disorders.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender; underserved populations

Updated 08/01/07