What makes a young person run away from home?

Victimization and Neglect

“The most common endangerment component was physical or sexual abuse at home or fear of abuse upon return.”

Girls who run away are often fleeing sexual abuse at home. Girls who were sexually abused at home were likely to prostitute themselves and meet with violence on the street.

Drugs and Alcohol

A 2006 Australian study from The University of Sydney found “once homeless, for the majority of youth there is an increase in the number of psychological diagnoses including drug and alcohol diagnoses.”

Girls who run away are more likely to use marijuana and alcohol, particularly if they were away from home for an extended period of time.

Crime and Homelessness

Runaway youth may engage in criminal activity, but the Australian researcher found “crime did not precede homelessness for all but one youth” (of the 35 studied).  In other words, once children are homeless, they may turn to crime.

Prevention and Intervention

Various types of treatment for substance-abusing runaway adolescents has been found effective, including community reinforcement approach, motivational interviewing, and ecologically-based family therapy, according to an article in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Sadly, some youth are more accurately called “throwaways” than “runaways.”  Some parents sexually abuse their children or allow others to do so. Parents who are consumed by their substance abuse problems may lack the emotional or physical resources to care for their children. 

Contacting a child abuse hotline when abuse is suspected may allow social workers to intervene before a child becomes a runaway.

Keeping Kids Safe

Providing substance abuse treatment and parenting classes may keep a child safe. 

At-risk youth require intervention to keep them from the downward spiral of homelessness, substance abuse, criminal behavior and mental health problems.

Society should focus on preventing problems, rather than waiting to fix them.