Changes over time among homeless young people in drug dependency, mental illness and their co-morbidity

Abstract

A cross-national survey was conducted among 358 recently homeless young people in Melbourne and Los Angeles. Drug dependence and mental illness were assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 months. At each time point, participants were classified as no condition, drug dependent, having a mental illness or dual condition. Low levels of drug dependence or mental illness or both were reported at each data point. Most young people were classified as neither drug dependent nor having mental illness at baseline and remained so for the 12-month period and few remained drug dependent, or had continuing mental illness or both. Half to two-thirds of young people classified as having one or both conditions were subsequently reclassified as "no condition". There was no evidence of a consistent pathway from either drug dependence or mental illness to co-morbidity. Most young people reported an absence of mental illness and/or drug dependence at each time point. Improvement from one or both conditions at each transition suggests it may be more effective to provide interventions to address drug dependence and mental health problems to young people early in their experience of homelessness.

Substance Use, Self-Esteem, and Self-Efficacy Among Homeless and Runaway Youth in New Orleans

“…Yet, nearly one in five (17.6%) participants reported alcohol dependence, similar to previous studies reporting 21.5% (Johnson et al 2005). Likewise, drug dependence in the present sample (19.6%) was similar to that reported by Rosenthal and her colleagues (16%; Rosenthal et al 2007). Higher rates of substance nonuse and substance dependence, representing opposite ends of the usage spectrum, and lower rates of substance abuse, representing a point in between, imply an all-or-nothing pattern of use among these youth.…”

Homelessness Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth: Implications for Subsequent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

“…Homeless LGB youth also report higher levels of substance abuse symptoms (Bailey et al 1998; Kipke et al 1997; Van Leeuwen et al 2006) and other externalizing problems (Cochran et al 2002; Rice et al 2008) relative to homeless heterosexual youth. Psychological symptoms are often reported both by currently homeless youth and those with a history of homelessness (Clatts et al 2005; Rosenthal et al 2007). …”

Psychiatric Disorders and Substance Use in Homeless Youth: A Preliminary Comparison of San Francisco and Chicago

“…With the particularly high rates of substance-related disorders observed, the need for appropriate prevention and intervention approaches with this community is strong [23]. The vast majority of adults who suffer from substance abuse began using substances during adolescence, and the effects of use at that age have associations with poorer psychosocial and mental health outcomes during later life [24,25]. Regional data collected in this study highlight important information regarding how best to tailor services to increase utilization and eventual outcomes for homeless youth.…”