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PubMed1979

A psychometric and behavioral comparison of delinquents who were abused as children with their non-abused peers.

Investigated responses of abused and non-abused juvenile delinquents to Bell's Adjustment Inventory and Gough's California Psychological Inventory, and information with regard to several related behavioral measures. The Ss were 52 institutionalized adolescent males and females. Results indicated that the abused Ss scored significantly higher than the non-abused group on the Home Adjustment Scale (indicative of poorer adjustment) and significantly lower than the non-abused group on the Flexibility, Tolerance, and Socialization Scales. Subsequent analysis showed a significant interaction effect on the behavioral measure with regard to the number of runaway attempts; abused males made significantly more attempts than abused females and non-abused males and females.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Suicidal behavior in adolescents in Switzerland: role of physicians].

INTRODUCTION: In most industrialized countries, suicide represents the second leading cause of death among adolescents. Swiss teenagers exhibit one of the highest death rates by suicide in Europe; however, the prevalence of suicidal conducts (suicidal ideas, projects and attempts) in Switzerland is not known. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of suicidal conducts among Swiss adolescents and to compare these figures with available data from other countries. To establish how suicidal adolescents use health services in comparison with non-suicidal adolescents. METHODS: Bivariate analyses have been performed using data from the "SMASH" study (Swiss Multicenter Adolescent Survey on Health), a national survey on the health and lifestyles of 9,268 15 to 20 years in-school youth (3,993 girls et 5,275 boys). Within a self-administered anonymous questionnaire of 80 items, five specific questions focused on suicidal conducts and lead to the distribution of respondents in four groups: no suicidal concern, suicidal ideas, suicidal plans, suicide attempt. RESULTS: Regarding the last 12 months, 5,144 teenagers (55.5%) report no suicide preoccupation at all; 2,376 (25.6%) report suicide ideas only, 1,366 (14.7%) report suicidal projects and 274 (3%) report suicide attempts. Only 40% of respondents who report a suicide attempt have talked about it to someone in their circle of family or friends. Moreover, less than 20% have spoken of their suicide with a psychologist, and although they see physicians as often as the rest of the sample, only 10% have discussed their attempt with one of them. In comparison with those free of suicidal concerns, suicidal adolescents report significantly more health problems and concerns: they feel more often tired or depressed and use medication more often. They also seem to exhibit more deviant behaviors like alcohol and drug use or runaway. CONCLUSION: Suicidal conducts, especially suicide attempts are much more prevalent among Swiss adolescents, but a small minority is acknowledged and treated by the medical profession. Physicians should be aware of this pathology and better trained both in term of detection and treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Homeless adolescent parents: HIV risk, family structure and individual problem behaviors.

This study examined differences between homeless teenage fathers and mothers compared with nonparents. Overall, parents reported significantly more lifetime runaway episodes, more people growing up in their home, and reported higher lifetime HIV risk behaviors than did nonparents. Findings highlight the need for targeted prevention and intervention efforts for this subgroup of homeless youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Substance abuse and high-risk needle-related behaviors among homeless youth in Minneapolis: implications for prevention.

Homeless and runaway youth face a variety of health risks, including those related to substance abuse and use of unsterile needles. During 1998-1999, we recruited 201 Minneapolis homeless youths aged 15-22 years; these youths were interviewed by experienced street outreach workers from settings where street youth were known to congregate. Respondents spent a median of 6 months in the previous year living on the streets or "couch hopping." There were 37% who reported having 15 or more alcoholic drinks per week, 41% smoked 1 pack or more of cigarettes per day, and 37% used marijuana 3 or more times a week; 15% reported lifetime injection drug use, including 6% who used injection drugs within the previous month. Twenty percent had received a tattoo, and 18% body piercing with a needle that had not been sterilized or had been used by someone else. There were 68% who had been tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 52% for hepatitis B, and 25% for hepatitis C. There were 44% who said they did not have enough information about hepatitis B and C. Less than half (43%) received hepatitis B vaccine; however, 51% of unvaccinated youths indicated that they would receive vaccination if offered. These Midwestern homeless youths face multiple health risks, including those related to substance use and exposure to unsterile needles. Despite unsafe behaviors, many of these youths were interested in methods to protect their health, including education, knowing their HIV or viral hepatitis serostatus, and obtaining hepatitis B immunization.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

HIV-risk behaviors associated with homelessness characteristics in youth.

PURPOSE: To examine characteristics of youth homelessness associated with engaging in risk behaviors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). METHODS: The sample included 288 currently homeless or runaway Washington, DC youth aged 14-21 years. Measures were self-reported homelessness characteristics, unsafe sexual behavior, injection drug use, and background characteristics. Bivariate and multivariable analyses of the relationships between homelessness characteristics and HIV risk behaviors were conducted. RESULTS: Both male (n = 140) and female (n = 148) participants reported high rates of unsafe sexual behaviors, but low rates of injection drug use. HIV risk was significantly associated in bivariate analyses with severity of homelessness circumstances (i.e., spending the night in public place or with strangers, going hungry, and participating in the street economy), the duration of homelessness (i.e., greater number of episodes of homelessness, longer time length of current episode), and specific reasons for being homeless (i.e., thrown out). In addition, sexual victimization and older age were associated with increased HIV risk. In multivariable models, a smaller set of these homelessness characteristics remained significant independent correlates and explained a substantial amount of the variation in the HIV risk indices for both males and females. CONCLUSIONS: The results contribute to greater theoretical understanding of the characteristics of homelessness associated with increased risk of HIV infection within this vulnerable population of youth. The associations between homelessness characteristics and HIV risk suggest the need for HIV prevention efforts to focus directly on ameliorating the homelessness circumstances of youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Predictors of HIV testing among runaway and homeless adolescents.

PURPOSE: Although runaway and homeless adolescents are at high risk for acquiring HIV infection, little is known about which of these youth obtain HIV testing or whether those considered to be at highest risk are being tested. The purpose of our study was to determine demographic characteristics and risk profiles of runaway and homeless adolescents who had obtained an HIV test and compare them to those who had not been tested. METHODS: We analyzed data collected by the State of California from a survey of 202 San Francisco Bay area runaway and homeless youth aged 13-18 years conducted in 1990-1991. Adolescents were interviewed about AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, including HIV testing experience. RESULTS: Most subjects were 16 years or older (80%), white (61%), sexually active (91%) and heterosexual (82%). Twenty-three percent reported a previous sexually transmitted disease (STD); 27% had used injection drugs. Over half (54%) had been HIV antibody tested. Free/community clinics were the most common site for testing. In a logistic regression model, four variables were independent predictors of having obtained an HIV antibody test: history of an STD (p = 0.01), 5 or more years of sexual activity (p = 0.01), injection drug use (P = 0.04), and age (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that many runaway and homeless adolescents have obtained an HIV antibody test and that those with known risk factors are more likely to have been tested. These data support the need for community-based expansion of HIV-related services for homeless youth. The effects of HIV antibody testing on subsequent beliefs and behaviors need further study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

A snapshot of substance abuse among homeless and runaway youth in Denver, Colorado.

We report on results of a one-day survey measuring rates of substance use and HIV risk behaviors among the homeless youth population of Denver, Colorado. On March 15, 2001, staff of Urban Peak, conducted a single-day survey of homeless and runaway youth in the Denver metropolitan region, going to locations known to be frequented by this population. All youth encountered were asked to fill out a brief survey asking about past nine month use of the following substances: alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy and ketamine, and HIV risk behaviors. Chi-square analyses of the association of substance used and gender, age, living situation, and ethnicity were conducted. In addition, the use of any club drug was examined. One-hundred-eighty-six homeless or runaway youth were surveyed; 74 percent were between 16 and 25. Rates of use over the last nine months were as follows: alcohol, 69 percent; marijuana, 75 percent; methamphetamine, 18 percent; cocaine, 19 percent; heroin, 12 percent; hallucinogens, 30 percent; ecstasy, 25 percent; and ketamine, 13 percent. Eleven percent reported trading sex for drugs, money, food, or shelter; and 13 percent reported sharing needles. There were significant associations between living situation and use of marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens. Prevalence rates of club drugs show 75 percent, 77 percent and 77 percent of homeless or runaway youth ihaving used ecstasy, ketamine and hallucinogens one to three times per month over the last nine months, respectively. Prevalence rates of substance use among homeless youth in the Denver metropolitan are similar to rates reported in other larger metropolitan areas. Routine screening for every substance needs to be part of the assessment for all homeless youth. Initial data points to a need for more research exploring protective factors among this population and to better understand the prevalence of club drug use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Primary socialization theory: it all begins with the family.

This commentary is a discussion of primary socialization theory emphasizing the centrality of family processes on adolescents' affiliation with deviant peers and subsequent deviant behaviors. The focus of the discussion is the persistent influence of family processes well into adolescence. An empirical model illustrating these processes is presented. The model is based on a sample of 257 runaway adolescents and indicates that the effects of an abusive family on adolescent behaviors are largely transmitted via affiliation with deviant peers. The author concludes that primary socialization theory would be strengthened by greater emphasis on the persistent influence of family on adolescent behaviors. Implications for family-based prevention programs are discussed. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

"Runaway" social evolution: reinforcing selection for inbreeding and altruism.

Kin selection theory predicts that altruistic behaviors, those that decrease the fitness of the individual performing the behavior but increase the fitness of the recipient, can increase in frequency if the individuals interacting are closely related. Several studies have shown that inbreeding therefore generally increases the effectiveness of kin selection when fitnesses are linear, additive functions of the number of altruists in the family, although with extreme forms of altruism, inbreeding can actually retard the evolution of altruism. These models assume that a constant proportion of the population mates at random and a constant proportion practices some form of inbreeding. In order to investigate the effect of inbreeding on the evolution of altruistic behavior when the mating structure is allowed to evolve, we examined a two-locus model by computer simulation of a diploid case and illustrated the important qualitative features by mathematical analysis of a haploid case. One locus determines an individual's propensity to perform altruistic social behavior and the second locus determines the probability that an individual will mate within its sibship. We assumed positive selection for altruism and no direct selection at the inbreeding locus. We observed that the altruistic allele and the inbreeding allele become positively associated, even when the initial conditions of the model assume independence between these loci. This linkage disequilibrium becomes established, because the altruistic allele increases more rapidly in the inbreeding segment of the population. This association subsequently results in indirect selection on the inbreeding locus. However, the dynamics of this model go beyond a simple "hitch-hiking" effect, because high levels of altruism lead to increased inbreeding, and high degrees of inbreeding accelerate the rate of change of the altruistic allele in the entire population. Thus, the dynamics of this model are similar to those of "runaway" sexual selection, with gene frequency change at the two loci interactively causing rapid evolutionary change.

Alleles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Correlates and distribution of HIV risk behaviors among homeless youths in New York City: implications for prevention and policy.

Homeless youths are at high risk for poor health outcomes, including repeated exposure to STDs and high rates of unplanned pregnancies, untreated TB, HIV infection, and accelerated immune dysfunction associated with AIDS. This article examines the nature and distribution of HIV-risk behavior in a broad, street-based sample of homeless and runaway youths in New York City (N = 929). Although street youths in general are shown at high risk, the highest risks nest within older age segments of the male street youth population. Paradoxically, these youths are least likely to be in contact with prevention services. The data demonstrate the need to reconsider the use of chronological age as a determinant for service eligibility and to reconfigure funding streams so as to more effectively and consistently target older and more vulnerable youths.

Adolescent↗