Table 1.

Homeless Youth Sample Characteristics

Variable	n (%)
Age (years) [Mean (SD)]	20.9 (2.4)
Gender
Male	122 (65.2)
Female	62 (33.2)
Other	3 (1.6)
Country of Birth
Canada	175 (93.6)
USA	4 (2.1)
Other	8 (4.3)
Level of Education
Completed grade school	149 (79.7)
Completed high school	27 (14.4)
Some post-secondary	11 (5.8)
Marital Status
Single, never married	146 (78.1)
Cohabitating with partner	37 (19.8)
Married	1 (0.5)
Separated	1 (0.5)
Don’t know	2 (1.1)
Current Primary Employment Status
Employed	13 (7.0)
Unemployed	140 (74.9)
Student	31 (16.6)
Volunteer work, unpaid	1 (0.5)
Other	1 (0.5)
Don’t know	1 (0.5)
Current Sources of Income
Welfare/Income assistance	95 (50.8)
Personal Needs Allowance	29 (15.5)
Other	17 (9.1)
Earnings from casual work	16 (8.6)
Pan-handling	13 (7.0)
No income	12 (6.4)
Partner/Family support	11 (5.9)
Disability income	9 (4.8)
Earnings from regular work	7 (3.7)
Illegal means	7 (3.7)
Busking	5 (2.7)
Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)	3 (1.6)
HST/Income Tax rebate/cheque	3 (1.6)
Children’s Aid Society support	3 (1.6)
Baby bonus	2 (1.1)
Squeegeeing	2 (1.1)
Pension	1 (0.5)
Total income in the previous month (n=186) [Mean (SD)]	$970.55 ($2339.55)
Primary Diagnosis
Substance-related disorder	64 (34.2)
Mood disorder	59 (31.6)
Disorder of childhood/adolescence	25 (13.4)
Anxiety disorder	22 (11.8)
Mental health diagnosis present but type unknown	9 (4.8)
Schizophrenia	5 (2.7)
Other	2 (1.1)
Developmental handicap	1 (0.5)
Total amount of time spent being homeless during the lifetime (months) [Mean (SD)]	24.39 (28.27)
Longest single period of homelessness (months) [Mean (SD)]	12.22 (21.29)
Number of undesirable moves in the previous 5 years (n=179) [Mean (SD)]	9.09 (17.18)