Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Increased Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior Among Migratory Homeless Youth: Exploring the Role of Social Network Composition

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Travelers are a migratory subgroup of homeless youth who may be especially prone to engaging in risky behavior. This study compared the substance use and sexual behavior of young homeless travelers and non-travelers to evaluate the extent and possible sources of travelers’ increased risk. Data came from face-to-face interviews with 419 homeless youth (36.6% female, 34.0% white, 23.9% African American, and 20.0% Hispanic) between the ages of 13 and 24 years (M = 20.1 years, SD = 2.5) who were randomly sampled from 41 shelters, drop-in centers, and street sites in Los Angeles. Travelers were almost twice as likely as non-travelers to exhibit recent heavy drinking, 37% more likely to exhibit recent marijuana use, and five times as likely to have injected drugs. Travelers also had more recent sex partners and were more likely to report having casual or need-based sexual partners and combining sex with substance use. Mediation analyses suggest that travelers’ deviant peer associations and disconnection to conventional individuals and institutions may drive their elevated substance use. Differences in sexual risk behaviors are likely attributable to demographic differences between the two groups. Overall, these differences between travelers and non-travelers suggest different service needs and the need for different service approaches.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bailey, S. L., Camlin, C. S., & Ennett, S. T. (1998). Substance use and risky behavior among homeless and runaway youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23, 378–388.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, K., & Ennett, S. T. (1996). On the importance of peer influence for adolescent drug use: Commonly neglected considerations. Addiction, 91, 185–198.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, G. (2010, May 12). Life on the streets as a New Orleans gutter punk. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-new-orleans/life-on-the-streets-as-a-new-orleans-gutter-punk.

  • Brooks, R. A., Milburn, N. G., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., & Witkin, A. (2004). The system-of-care for homeless youth: Perceptions of service providers. Evaluation & Program Planning, 27, 443–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Youth risk behavior surveillance–United States, 2007. Surveillance Summaries, June 6, 2008. MMWR, 57 (No. SS-4).

  • Chapman, B., & Hays, E. (2009, July 14). Punks invade Williamsburg as heroin-addicted hobos set up shop in trendy Brooklyn neighborhood. New York Daily News. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/07/15/2009-07-15_hordes_of_hobos_set_up_shop_in_williamsburg_punks_invade_neighborhood.html.

  • Davey-Rothwell, M. A., German, D., & Latkin, C. A. (2008). Residential transience and depression: Does the relationship exist for men and women? Journal of Urban Health, 85, 707–716.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Rosa, C. J., Montgomery, S. B., Kipke, M. D., Iverson, E., Ma, J. L., & Unger, J. B. (1999). Service utilization among homeless and runaway youth in Los Angeles, California: Rates and reasons. Journal of Adolescent Health, 24, 449–458.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Des Jarlais, D. C., Perlis, T. E., & Settembrino, J. M. (2005). The use of electronic debit cards in longitudinal data collections with geographically mobile drug users. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 77, 1–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ek, C. A., & Steelman, L. C. (1988). Becoming a runaway: From the accounts of youthful runners. Youth and Society, 19, 334–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ennett, S. T., Bailey, S. L., & Federman, E. (1999). Social network characteristics associated with risky behaviors among runaway and homeless youth. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 63–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ennew, J. (1994). Parentless friends: A cross-cultural examination of networks among street children and street youth. In F. Nestmann & K. Hurrelmann (Eds.), Social networks and social support in childhood and adolescence (pp. 409–426). New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, K. M., Jun, J., Bender, K., Thompson, S., & Pollio, D. (2010). A comparison of addiction and transience among street youth: Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri. Community Mental Health Journal, 46, 296–307.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, A. (2006, November 29). Homeless youth: New York City’s nomadic subculture. Pace Press. Retrieved November 4, 2010, from http://www.pacepress.org/2.3829/homeless-youth-new-york-city-s-nomadic-subculture-1.450613.

  • German, D., Davey, M. A., & Latkin, C. A. (2007). Residential transience and HIV risk behaviors among injection drug users. AIDS and Behavior, 11(Suppl 2), 21–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, J. M., & Ringwalt, C. L. (1996). Youth and familial substance use’s association with suicide attempts among runaway and homeless youth. Substance Use and Misuse, 31, 1041–1058.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, J. M., Ringwalt, C. L., & Robertson, M. J. (1998). Familial background and risk behaviors of youth with thrownaway experiences. Journal of Adolescence, 21, 241–252.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hagan, J., & McCarthy, B. (1997). Mean streets: Youth crime and homelessness. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer, H., Finkelhor, D., & Sedlak, A. (2002). Runaway/thrownaway children: National estimates and characteristics. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T. (1977). Causes and prevention of juvenile delinquency. Sociological Inquiry, 47, 322–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, A. L., Nyamathi, A., & Sweat, J. (2008). Homeless youths’ interpersonal perspectives of health care providers. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 29, 1277–1289.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, J. (2005). From home to street: Understanding young people’s transitions into homelessness. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 171–183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, T. P., Aschkenasy, J. R., Herbers, M. R., & Gillenwater, S. A. (1996). Self-reported risk factors for AIDS among homeless youth. AIDS Education and Prevention, 8, 308–322.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. D., Whitbeck, L. B., & Hoyt, D. R. (2005a). Substance use disorders among homeless and runaway adolescents. Journal of Drug Issues, 35, 799–816.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. D., Whitbeck, L. B., & Hoyt, D. R. (2005b). Predictors of social network composition among homeless and runaway adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 231–248.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kipke, M. D., Montgomery, S. B., Simon, T. R., Unger, J., & Johnson, C. (1997a). Homeless youth: Drug use patterns and HIV risk profiles according to peer group affiliation. AIDS and Behavior, 1, 247–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kipke, M. D., Unger, J. B., O’Connor, S., Palmer, R. F., & LaFrance, S. R. (1997b). Street youth, their peer group affiliation and differences according to residential status, subsistence patterns, and use of services. Adolescence, 32, 655–669.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Korn, P. (2009, April 30). Sidewalk ordinance extended. Portland Tribune. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=124103963609100000.

  • Kral, A. H., Molnar, B. E., Booth, R. E., & Watters, J. K. (1997). Prevalence of sexual risk behaviour and substance use among runaway and homeless adolescents in San Francisco, Denver and New York City. International Journal of STD and AIDS, 8, 109–117.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lankenau, S. E., Sanders, B., Bloom, J. J., Hathazi, D., Alarcon, E., Tortu, S., et al. (2008). Migration patterns and substance use among young homeless travelers. In Y. F. Thomas, D. Richardson, & I. Cheung (Eds.), Geography and drug addiction (pp. 65–83). Guilford, UK: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Latkin, C. A., & Knowlton, A. R. (2005). Micro-social structural approaches to HIV prevention: A social ecological perspective. AIDS Care, 17(Suppl 1), 102–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latkin, C. A., Mandell, W., Oziemkowska, M., Celentano, D., Vlahov, D., Ensminger, M., et al. (1995). Using social network analysis to study patterns of drug use among urban drug users at high risk for HIV/AIDS. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 38, 1–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • LeDuff, C. (1997, September 21). Making it work; Runaway girl. New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/21/nyregion/making-it-work-runaway-girl.html.

  • MacKinnon, D. P. (2000). Contrasts in multiple mediator models. In J. Rose, L. Chassin, C. C. Presson, & S. J. Sherman (Eds.), Multivariate applications in substance use research: New methods for new questions (pp. 141–160). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, B., & Hagan, J. (1995). Getting into street crime: The structure and process of criminal embeddedness. Social Science Research, 24, 63–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarty, C. (2002). Measuring structure in personal networks. Journal of Social Structure, 3(1).

  • McCarty, C., Bernard, H. R., Killworth, P. D., Johnsen, E. C., & Shelley, G. A. (1997). Eliciting representative samples of personal networks. Social Networks, 19, 303–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarty, C., Killworth, P. D., & Rennell, J. (2007). Impact of methods for reducing respondent burden on personal network structural measures. Social Networks, 29, 300–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehra, A., Kilduff, M., & Brass, D. (2001). The social networks of high and low self-monitors: Implications for workplace performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 121–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nygaard, P. (2001). Intervention in social networks: A new method in the prevention of alcohol related problems. Addiction Research & Theory, 9, 221–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, E., Milburn, N. G., & Rotheram-Borus, M. J. (2007). Pro-social and problematic social network influences on HIV/AIDS risk behaviors among newly homeless youth in Los Angeles. AIDS Care, 19, 697–704.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, E., Milburn, N. G., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Mallett, S., & Rosenthal, D. (2005). The effects of peer-group network properties on drug use among homeless youth. American Behavioral Scientist, 48, 1102–1123.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, E., Monro, W., Barman-Adhikari, M. A., & Young, S. D. (2010). Internet use, social networking, and HIV/AIDS risk for homeless adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47, 610–613.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, E., Stein, J. A., & Milburn, N. (2008). Countervailing social network influences on problem behaviors among homeless youth. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 625–639.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D., Mallett, S., Milburn, N., & Rotheram-Borus, M. J. (2008). Drug use among homeless young people in Los Angeles and Melbourne. Journal of Adolescent Health, 43, 296–305.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Mahler, K. A., Koopman, C., & Langabeer, K. (1996). Sexual abuse history and associated multiple risk behavior in adolescent runaways. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 66, 390–400.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Rosario, M., & Koopman, C. (1991). Minority youths at high risk: Gay males and runaways. In M. E. Colton & S. Gore (Eds.), Adolescent stress: Causes and consequences (pp. 181–200). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, B., Lankenau, S. E., Bloom, J. J., & Hathazi, D. (2008). Multiple drug use and polydrug use among homeless traveling youth. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 7, 23–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, C. J. (1989). Domain means, regression and multivariate analyses. In C. J. Skinner, D. Holt, & T. M. F. Smith (Eds.), Analysis of complex surveys (pp. 59–88). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toro, P. A., Dworsky, A., & Fowler, P. J. (2007). Homeless youth in the United States: Recent research findings and intervention approaches. Retrieved November 4, 2010, from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/homelessnesssymposium07/toro.

  • Tyler, K. A. (2008). Social network characteristics and risky sexual and drug related behaviors among homeless young adults. Social Science Research, 37, 673–685.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, K. A., Whitbeck, L. B., Hoyt, D. R., & Yoder, K. A. (2000). Predictions of self-reported sexually transmitted diseases among homeless and runaway adolescents. Journal of Sex Research, 37, 369–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weir, B. W., Bard, R. S., O’Brien, K., Casciato, C. J., & Stark, M. J. (2007). Uncovering patterns of HIV risk through multiple housing measures. AIDS and Behavior, 11(Suppl 2), 31–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzel, S. L., Tucker, J. S., Golinelli, D., Green, H. D., Jr, & Zhou, A. (2010). Personal network correlates of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among homeless youth. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 112, 140–149.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitbeck, L. B., & Hoyt, D. R. (1999). Nowhere to grow: Homeless and runaway adolescents and their families. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitbeck, L. B., Hoyt, D. R., & Yoder, K. A. (1999). A risk-amplification model of victimization and depressive symptoms among runaway and homeless adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 273–296.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Winett, R. A., Anderson, E. S., Desiderato, L. L., Solomon, L. J., Perry, M., Kelly, J. A., et al. (1995). Enhancing social diffusion theory as a basis for prevention intervention: A conceptual and strategic framework. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 4, 233–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, S. D., & Rice, E. (2011). Online social networking technologies, HIV knowledge, and sexual risk and testing behaviors among homeless youth. AIDS and Behavior, 15, 253–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grant R01DA020351 from National Institute on Drug Abuse. We thank the youth who shared their experiences with us, the service agencies that collaborated in this study, and the RAND Survey Research Group for assistance in data collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. RAND Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Steven C. Martino

  2. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA

    Joan S. Tucker, Gery Ryan, Daniela Golinelli & Brett Munjas

  3. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Suzanne L. Wenzel

Authors
  1. Steven C. Martino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joan S. Tucker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gery Ryan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Suzanne L. Wenzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Daniela Golinelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Brett Munjas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven C. Martino.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Martino, S.C., Tucker, J.S., Ryan, G. et al. Increased Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior Among Migratory Homeless Youth: Exploring the Role of Social Network Composition. J Youth Adolescence 40, 1634–1648 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9646-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9646-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation