Problem -Various demographic and familial risk factors have been linked to runaway behavior. To date, there has not been a systematic investigation of the impact of size of community on runaway behavior. This study will compare runaways from smaller cities and rural areas to their urban counterparts. Methods -A convenience sample of 602 adolescents was interviewed between 1995 and August of 1996 in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, USA. Multiple regression was used to examine the association between gender, neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse, geographic and family structure change, and community size of first runaway to predict age at first runaway, deviant subsistence strategies, and street victimization. Results -Findings indicate that adolescents exposed to neglect (β = −.20) and sexual abuse (β = −.16) ran away sooner and were more likely to be victimized on the street. Rural adolescents who experienced higher levels of physical abuse relied more heavily on deviant subsistence strategies (β = .15) and remained in abusive homes longer (β = .15) than their similarly situated urban counterparts. Conclusions -Rural youth who have been subjected to elevated levels of familial abuse are at greater risk of deviant subsistence strategies, which increase the likelihood of street victimization.

This study examined the associations between lifetime mental disorder, comorbidity, and self‐reported postrunaway arrests among 428 (187 males, 241 females) homeless and runaway youth. The analysis examined the pattern of arrests across five lifetime mental disorders (alcohol abuse, drug abuse, conduct disorder, major depressive episode, and posttraumatic stress disorder). The adolescents, ranging from 16 to 19 years old, were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters in four Midwestern states using computer‐assisted personal interviewing. Extensive self‐reports of early life history, behaviors since running away from home, and diagnostic interviewing (UM‐CIDI and DISC‐R) were used to estimate possible disorders. There was a high level of postrunaway arrests reported by the youth; more than half were arrested at least once after the initial runaway, with the average of 4.4 times. Consistent with the hypotheses, there were differential associations between individual mental disorders and involvement with the criminal justice system. Only externalizing disorders such as substance abuse and conduct disorder were related to arrest. Street youth with multiple externalizing and internalizing disorders were more likely to be arrested than nondisordered youths.

This study explores the sexual risk trajectories of female youths and sheds light on the long-term effects of running away. It evaluates whether running away increases the risk of sexual assault in the following year, which is after runaways return home. The sample consists of 5,387 heterosexual females between the ages of 11 and 18 years from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Nearly one quarter (23%) of runaways report a previous sexual assault in contrast to 5% of nonrunaways. In a logistic regression model, childhood neglect increases the risk of sexual assault between Waves 1 and 2 by nearly two times. Poor mental health is statistically significant. Alcohol use doubles the odds of sexual assault. The risk of sexual assault is approximately three-fold for girls with a history of sexual onset and sexual touching in a romantic relationship. Running away increases the risk by nearly two and a half times. There is evidence that alcohol use and sexual onset partially mediates the relationship between running away and sexual assault.

Despite increasing prevalence of asthma among American Indians and/or Alaska Natives, little is known about their use of traditional healing in its management. A convenience sample of 24 Navajo families with asthmatic members (n=35) was interviewed between June 1997 and September 1998. While 46% of families had previously used traditional healing, only 29% sought traditional healing for asthma. Use of traditional healing was unrelated to use of biomedical therapies, hospitalizations, or emergency services. Practical factors and questions about the nature and origins of asthma were the primary considerations determining use of traditional medicine. Little conflict between traditional healing and biomedical treatment was reported. The use of traditional healing for asthma is influenced by beliefs about the disease and factors specific to the individual, including their local social, economic, and cultural context.As evidence has accumulated that effective self-management reduces frequency of asthma exacerbations and costs of medical care (National Asthma Education and Prevention Program [NAEPP], 1997) asthma patients and their families have assumed an increasingly important and independent role in their own treatment. At the same time, the use of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) has become widespread and more accepted, particularly for chronic conditions such as asthma (Andrews et al., 1998;Davis, Gold, Hackman, Stern, & Gershwin, 1998;Eisenberg et al., 1993;Elder, Gilchrist, & Minz, 1997; Hackman, Stern, & Gershwin, 1996). This trend has raised questions about the concurrent use of multiple medical systems and the extent to which they constitute competing alternatives to biomedical therapies. A lack of qualitative accounts, however, has limited American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research Copyright: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health Colorado School of Public Health/University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (www.ucdenver.edu/caianh) 2 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 1 the extent to which patterns of use and any potential conflicts can be understood in their local social, cultural, and economic context. In addition, the use of traditional healing for asthma in populations characterized by the presence of both biomedicine and indigenous healing systems has been little studied.This study examines use of traditional or indigenous medicine among a population of American Indian asthmatics. In the United States, asthmarelated morbidity and mortality is increasing most rapidly among minority populations (Mannino et al., 1998). Although early studies found a low prevalence of asthma among American Indians and/or Alaska Natives, recent figures suggest that asthma is increasing among these populations as well. For example, asthma-related hospitalizations among the Navajo increased between 1979 and 1989, particularly in children aged 1-4 (Hisnanick, Coddington, & Gergen, 1994). Despite its growing importance in this population, little is known about how Navajos select among possible...

This study presents results from a 2002 Midwest urban random sample survey ( N = 167 adults). It is proposed that attitudes toward technology have a direct impact on digital citizenry and are colored by racial and educational differences. A path model showed several key results. Desire for computer skills increased among respondents with lower levels of educational attainment. Respondents with higher levels of education were more likely to use computers at home andwork. Non-Whites were more likely than Whites to agree that technological information is key to citizen empowerment and that computers should be accessible to all citizens, as well as reporting increased interest in learning computer skills. Interest in developing computer skillswas positively associated with digital citizenship. Viewing technology as a source of informational powerwas positively related to support for digital government and to support for computer access equity.