Based on interviews with runaway and homeless youth, this text examined the causes and consequences of running away.
Data on running away are examined, and common myths about the motivations and experience of running away are discussed. Reasons for running away are considered within the context of the normative developmental tasks of adolescence. Emphasis is placed on the fact that these youth usually are not running toward something but away from something -- usually abuse. The family environments of runaways are profiled, and the relationship between family environment and self-esteem and abuse is explored. Social and psychological outcomes in runaway youth are examined with focus on three constellations of symptoms: post-traumatic stress disorder in physically abused runaways, delinquency patterns, and the reaction of male runaways to sexual abuse. An analysis is presented of drawings by runaways, and the relationship between behavioral/psychological indicators in the drawings and sexual and physical abuse history is discussed. Pathways and cycles of running away are described; and the cognitive styles, beliefs, and expectations of this population are examined. Implications of findings for prevention, shortand long-term intervention, and public policy are discussed. A runaway assessment is appended. Index and chapter notes.