Fisher, M., Florsheim, P., & Sheetz, J. (2005). That's not my problem: Convergence and divergence between self- and other-identified problems among homeless adolescents. Child & Youth Care Forum, 34, 393-403.

Key Points: When working with homeless youth, an initial focus on substance abuse or trauma-related issues may be counterproductive.

Summary: This study examined the difference between homeless youth's self-identifed behavioral and mental health needs, and the needs that mental professionals tend to focus on. Forty homeless youth were administered standard psychological measures and were given a face-to-face interview. The study found that issues such as past victimization, symptoms of mental illness, substance abuse and other high-risk behaviors were generally not thought-of as problems by homeless youth. Most youth described relationship problems as their primary concern, followed by work or school related issues. These youth rarely sought assistance from mental health professionals, but were willing to talk to counselors about problems they self-identifed as being important.

Topics:Adolescent/high school; underserved populations

Johnson, R., Rew, L., & Kouzekanani, K. (2006). Gender differences in victimized homeless adolescents. Adolescence, 41, 40-53.

Key Points: When working with homeless youth, identification of abuse history can be critical in developing effective interventions. This study indicates that young men and boys who have been sexually abused can benefit from learning assertive communication skills, as other studies have shown with young women and girls.

Summary: This study sought to determine how gender and sexual abuse histor influence cognitive-perceptual and behavioral factors associated with the sexual health practices of homeless adolescents. The investigators conducted a secondary analysis of data collected for a study of sexual health practices of homeless adolescents, using a sample of 414 participants. They found that females reporting a history of sexual abuse had a shorter future time perspective that females who did not report abuse, indicating a reduced belief that the future has a structure, can be controlled and is predictable. Males who did not report a history of sexual abuse had higher perceived health status than abused females, and were more assertive communicators than abused males.

Topics: Adolescent/high school; underserved populations

McCuller, W., Sussman, S., Holiday, K., Craig, S., & Dent, C. (2002). Tracking procedures for locating high-risk youth. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 25, 345.

Key Points: Tracking high-risk youth is very difficult. Even with access to a complete range of personal information, intense resources and dedicated tracking staff, less than half of a sample can be expected to be accessible over five years.

Summary: Describes the tracking procedures used by Project Towards No Drug Abuse (PTND), which followed high-risk youth over a 5 1/2 year period from 1994 to 2000. PTND used a randomized, multiwave experimental design at 21 continuation high schools located in five counties in Southern Arizona. The project consisted of self-report assessments at baseline, followed by a three week educational treatment program delivered to an experimental group, with an immediate posttest and one-year follow-up. Each year of the program constituted a single wave, with 1,861 participants over five waves. Prior-wave participants were contacted during each one-year follow-up round.

PTND developed a tracking database and had a dedicated staff member to serve as the tracking coordinator, as well as data entry staff and a database manager. Every consented participant filled-out a data card. Data cards recorded: full name, social security number, driver's license number, two contact persons (including address and telephone), family or permanent address, telephone number, grade, and birthdate. Information provided was checked against school records, which also provided any missing information. Participants were contacted for additional information if needed.

At annual follow-ups, participants were mailed a letter informing them that they would be contact by PTND staff by phone. Participants who were unreachable by mail or phone were pursued using various tracking methods. These included:
* 411 telephone directory assistance.
* Multiple mail-out forms (hoping that participants would be reached at forwarding addresses). Mail-out forms included: pre-call mailing, birthday mailing, holiday letter, thank-you letter, and session summaries.
* Internet "people finder" search engines.
* Haines Criss-Cross reverse directory service.
* Home visits by field interviewers.
* County Registrar (voting records accessed via a participant consent form).
* Department of Motor Vehicles records.
* TRW/Experian address database from credit records.
* US Search (a person locator firm that uses TRW and social security information).
* A toll-free line that participants could call to update their information.

As a result of these intense efforts, 35% of base (first wave) participants completed a 5th wave follow-up survey. By collapsing across the 4th and 5th waves, 46% of the total sample was retained. Anecdotally, participants were more cooperative after the survey instrument was shortened from 45 minutes to a 25 minutes.

Topics: Adolescent/high school, underserved populations

Witkin, A., Milburn, N., Rotheram-Borus, M., Batterham, P., May, S., & Brooks, R. (2005). Finding homeless youth: Patterns based on geographical area and number of homeless episodes. Youth & Society, 37, 62-84.

Key Points: Current research on homeless youth may not be representative of all homeless youth in urban areas.

Summary: "Cruise areas" are urban, inner-city areas characterized by high rate of drug use and sex work. When doing research on homeless youth, they the most common type of area for researchers to draw their sample from. This study looked a differences between youth found in cruise areas and non-cruise areas in Los Angeles County. They found that homeless youth in cruise areas were more likely than youth in non-cruise areas to be older, to have utilized social service services recently, to have been away from home longer, to have stayed in a shelter, and less likely to be in school.

Topics: Adolescent/high school, underserved population

Updated 08/01/07