3/24/99

Contacts:
Les Whitbeck, Sociology, (515) 294-9896
Danny Hoyt, Sociology, (515) 294-2444
Ed Adcock, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-2314

MIDWEST RUNAWAYS SUBJECT OF THREE-YEAR STUDY

AMES, Iowa -- This summer Iowa State University researchers will begin searching for runaway youths to study for the next three years.

The research will build on a previous study of runaway adolescents conducted by ISU sociologists Les Whitbeck and Danny Hoyt of the Institute of Social and Behavioral Research, and Ana Mari Cauce of the University of Washington. This project is funded with a $3 million grant from the National Institute on Mental Health.

"We know from our study that when they leave home there is psychological harm," Whitbeck said. "And nothing happens away from home to alleviate that stress."

The new research will look at what happens to the runaway youth as they become young adults, something that's never been studied before, he added. Possible outcomes for runaway youths, such as becoming homeless adults or entering the criminal-justice system, will be studied.

Runaways will be tracked in each of the five Midwestern cities that were involved in the previous study: St. Louis, Kansas City, Wichita, Kan., Lincoln, Neb., and Des Moines, Iowa. Researchers in the field will track groups of 50 youths from the ages of 16 to 18 until they reach the ages of 19 to 21. There will be three groups in St. Louis, two in Kansas City and one in the other communities.

The youths will be rated on components indicating the extent of psychological stress -- conduct problems, substance abuse and depression. The researchers also may incorporate suicide attempts into the dimensions being studied.

"It will be a challenge to follow the kids," Whitbeck said. Researchers are developing a tracking system and parents may help find them. The task will be easier in the smaller cities because there are fewer places for youth to hang out, Whitbeck added.

This is Whitbeck's third study of runaway youth. His previous project followed 602 runaways and interviewed 201 of their parents to see what family conditions caused the youth to leave home and how they fared on the streets. The results of the study will be published this summer in a book by Whitbeck and Hoyt titled No Where to Grow-Homeless and Runaway Adolescents and their Families. Information on the project is also available on the Web at: www.soc.iastate.edu/mhrap/

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