Homeless and matched housed adolescents: A comparative study of psychopathology

Abstract

Compared a probability sample of 118 homeless adolescents (ages 12-17) from 6 shelters from throughout the 7-county Detroit metropolitan area to a matched sample of 118 housed adolescents using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC), which yields diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) criteria, and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Adolescents in the housed comparison group were matched on age, sex, race, and neighborhood characteristics. Analyses, including ones controlling for a set of 10 risk and resilience factors, indicated that the homeless showed more disruptive behavior disorders and alcohol abuse or dependence on the DISC and greater levels of symptomatology on the BSI. There were no significant group differences on drug abuse or affective disorders, and psychotic disorders were rare in both groups. This pattern of findings is not entirely consistent with popular stereotypes about homeless youth nor with many existing studies (which have often failed to include an appropriate comparison group).

Victimization and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Runaway and Homeless Adolescents

“…Several studies have included PTSD symptom measures (Buckner & Bassuk, 1997;Mundy, Robertson, Robertson, & Greenblatt, 1990), while others estimated PTSD among sheltered adolescents who had never spent time directly on the streets (McCaskill, Toro, & Wolfe, 1998), thus excluding those particularly at risk. We could locate only two prior studies that included diagnostic assessments of PTSD in samples of homeless youth who have actually spent time on the streets.…”

Predictors of first mental health service utilization among homeless and runaway adolescents

“…The quality of family life for homeless and runaway youth is often examined in efforts to understand mental health outcomes [4,5,8]. In this study we focus on family transitions, parental rejection, and abuse.…”

“…Families who undergo re-composition changes (marriages, divorce, death) are at a higher risk for negative mental health outcomes. Similarly, geographic transitions introduce stressful life experiences into the lives of these homeless and runaway youth [8,14]. Transitions into foster care have also been linked to homelessness [21].…”

“…Prior research finds that parental rejection leads to negative emotional and behavioral outcomes for adolescents [8,14,27]. Parental abuse increases youths' vulnerability to future violence directly and indirectly through high risk behaviors [23].…”

Onset of Conduct Disorder, Use of Delinquent Subsistence Strategies, and Street Victimization Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents in the Midwest

“…R ecent studies have shown that homeless and runaway adolescents are a population characterized by a high rate of conduct problems (Buckner & Bassuk, 1997;Cauce, Paradise, & Ginzler, 2000;Feitel, Margetson, Chamas, & Lipman, 1992;McCaskill, Toro, & Wolfe, 1998), delinquent behavior and crime (S. Baron & Hartnagel, 1997;Greenblatt & Robertson, 1993;Hagan & McCarthy, 1997;Whitbeck & Hoyt, 1999), and physical and sexual victimization (Hagan & McCarthy, 1997;Lee & Schreck, 2005;Whitbeck & Hoyt, 1999). Researchers also have extensively examined the etiology of their antisocial behavior and victimization and suggested that these activities are influenced by various family, peer, and street factors (S. Baron, 1999; S. Baron & Hartnagel, 1997; S. W. Baron, Kennedy, & Forde, 2001;Hagan & McCarthy, 1997;Lee & Schreck, 2005;Whitbeck & Hoyt, 1999;Whitbeck, Hoyt, Yoder, Cauce, & Paradise, 2001).…”