Predictors of adolescent running away behavior

Adolescent boys and girls (N= 246) took part in a study of societal, personal, and interpersonal correlates of running away behavior. Correlational analyses showed the behavior to be related to low self-esteem, depression, suicidal ideation, negative stress, alcohol and drug use, truancy, and dissatisfaction with received social support. Multiple regression analysis identified suicidal ideation, alcohol use, dissatisfaction with social support, and truancy as salient predictors.

Some adolescents experience their families as unpleasant. They do not feel at home, their affective ties with other members are weak, and they distance themselves from the family and its norms and customs. As part of this alienation, they may show avoidance and escape behaviors (Angenent & De Man, 1993), including running away from home (i.e., absent from home for at least one night without their parents' or guardians' consent). Conservative estimates suggest that each year about two percent of children between the ages of 12 and 18 run away from home (Brennan, Huizinga, & Elliott, 1978; Edelbrock, 1980).

Running away has been the focus of research by psychologists, sociologists, clinicians, psychiatrists and educators, and many variables have been found to be related. Many of these correlates, however, are interrelated and no effort appears to have been made to identify the more salient ones. Therefore, the present study focused on behaviors frequently reported to be associated with running away, with the aim of isolating prominent predictors of the behavior in question.

Correlates of runaway behavior may be grouped into three categories: societal factors, personal characteristics, and interpersonal relationships (Angenent, 1993). This classification guided the selection of the following variables: anomy, gender, self-esteem, locus of control, depression, suicidal ideation, stress, drug and alcohol use, family status, parental control in child rearing, academic performance, truancy, and social support.

Runaway behavior may be caused by changes in society that occur in each period in history (Ambrosino,1971). As agents of society, parents transfer societal norms and values to their children, but society changes over time. Traditionally agreed upon norms become blurred and a condition of anomy develops. Parents may teach their children norms and values in which they personally believe, but which may not reflect contemporary thinking. Their children may become aware of the relative nature of these norms and values, and parent-child conflicts may develop which may lead to running away (Johnson 8t Carter, 1980; Lob, Burke, & Boglarsky, 1986).

In terms of personal characteristics, it has been found that more girls than boys run away from home (Adams & Munroe, 1979; Brennan et al., 1978; Justice 8t Duncan,1976; Spillane-Grieco,1984), that runaways tend to have low self-esteem (Beyer, 1974; Brennan et al., 1978; D'Angelo, 1974; Shaffer & Caton, 1984) and external locus of control (Angenent, 1993), and often suffer from depression (Angenent, 1993; De Man, Dolan, Pelletier, & Reid, 1993, 1994) and suicidal ideation (De Man et al., 1993; Ek 8c Steelman, 1988; Swanton, Wyles, Lincoln, Wilson, & Hill,1988). Moreover, runaways use alcohol and drugs more often than do their peers (Brennan et al.,1978; De Man et al.,1993; Justice & Duncan, 1976), and their behavior appears to be a way of coping with stress (Angenent & De Man, 1989).

Adolescents establish interpersonal relationships primarily in their immediate milieu: the family, the school, and peers. Many runaways, particularly girls, come from single-parent families (Ackerman, 1980; Brennan et al., 1978; De Man et al., 1993; Jordan & Trauernicht, 1988; Justice & Duncan, 1976). They often report poor parent-child relationships (De Man et al., 1993), particularly when they feel that they are not given sufficient autonomy in matters that affect them (Adams, Gullotta, & Clancy, 1985; Arulanandum, 1980). At school, their academic performance is often weak and their truancy rate high (Beyer,1974; Ferran & Sabatini, 1985; Johnson & Carter, 1980; Spillane-Grieco, 1984). Finally, many runaways report that they lack sufficient social support; they feel lonely and isolated (Beyer, 1974; Johnson & Carter, 1980; Sommer, 1984).

These findings suggest that running away behavior is positively related to anomy, external locus of control, depression, suicidal ideation, stress, drug and alcohol use, single-parent family status, controlled child rearing, and truancy; and negatively to self-esteem, academic performance, and social support. Noting that many of these variables are inter-related, the question remains as to which ones of these correlates make independent contributions to the variance in running away behavior and thus are true predictors.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 246 (area) high school students (129 boys, 117 girls) ranging in age from 12 to 18 yrs (Mr=14.9, SD = 1.6); 182 came from complete families; 64 were from single-parent ones.