Table 1.
Characteristics of youth at initial assessment (n = 391)
| Characteristics | N | (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||
| Mean age (SD) | 19.5 | (2.6) |
| Gender | ||
| Female | 137 | (35.0) |
| Male | 254 | (65.0) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| White | 68 | (17.4) |
| Black | 138 | (35.3) |
| Hispanic | 82 | (21.0) |
| American Indian | 6 | (1.5) |
| Asian | 7 | (1.8) |
| Mixed race | 90 | (23.0) |
| Impairment, mean (SD) | ||
| BSI Global Severity Index | .8 | (.7) |
| Past 3 months use | ||
| Alcohol | 300 | (76.7) |
| Marijuana | 323 | (82.6) |
| Alcohol or marijuana use | 350 | (89.5) |
| Other drugs | 172 | (44.1) |
| Mean days used past 3 months (SD) | ||
| Alcohol | 10.5 | (18.8) |
| Marijuana | 23.4 | (32.4) |
| Other drugs | 22.2 | (59.3) |
| Problematic guardian substance use | 186 | (47.7) |
| Lifetime treatment | ||
| Mental health services | 309 | (79.0) |
| Drug treatment | 76 | (19.5) |
| Drug dependent | 173 | (44.2) |
| Disaffiliation from family and home | ||
| Instrumental support from parents | 169 | (43.2) |
| Reason you left home | ||
| Forced out by parent/adult | 90 | (23.0) |
| Own choice | 189 | (48.3) |
| Taken out by government agency | 34 | (8.7) |
| Other | 78 | (19.9) |
| Able to go back home | 179 | (45.9) |
| Homelessness as a way of life | ||
| Informal sector activity | ||
| Having/trading sex for money | 38 | (9.7) |
| Selling drugs | 82 | (21.0) |
| Gambling deals | 48 | (12.3) |
| Shoplifting or stealing | 85 | (21.7) |
| Pornography (e.g., photos, video, film) | 14 | (3.6) |
| Having/trading sex for a place to stay | 25 | (6.4) |
| Begging, panhandling | 132 | (33.8) |
| Selling blood or plasma | 37 | (9.5) |
| Homeless for ≥1 year | 206 | (52.7) |
| Economic resources | ||
| Entitlement benefits | 106 | (27.1) |
| Currently employed | 53 | (13.6) |
| Living situationa | ||
| Unsheltered—homeless setting | ||
| Street, squat, or abandoned building | 212 | (54.2) |
| Automobile | 73 | (18.7) |
| Sheltered—homeless setting | ||
| Shelter | 257 | (65.7) |
| Hotel, motel, single-room occupancy | 194 | (49.6) |
| Friend’s home | 178 | (45.5) |
| Sheltered—nonhomeless setting | ||
| Own apartment, room, or house | 99 | (25.3) |
| Parent’s home | 106 | (27.1) |
| Other relative’s home | 109 | (27.9) |
| Foster family home | 25 | (6.4) |
| Group home | 43 | (11.0) |
| Institutional setting | ||
| Juvenile hall, detention center, jail, etc | 70 | (17.9) |
| Job corps facility | 7 | (1.8) |
| Psychiatric hospital | 19 | (4.9) |
BSI = Brief Symptom Inventory.
a
Categories are not mutually exclusive.