Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Social Networks of Homeless Youth in Emerging Adulthood

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

Abstract

Little is known about the social networks of homeless youth in emerging adulthood despite the importance of this information for interventions to reduce health risks. This study examined the composition of social networks, and the risks and supports present within them, in a random sample of 349 homeless youth (33.4% female, 23.9% African American, 17.7% Hispanic) between the ages of 18 and 24. Social network members who were met on the street were among the most likely to be perceived as engaging in risky sex, as well as to engage in substance use with the youth. Youth were more likely to count on relatives and sex partners for support compared to other network members, but they also were more likely to use substances with sex partners and perceived them as engaging in risky sex. Interventions may need to recognize the importance of intimate relationships during the developmental stage of emerging adulthood by enhancing supportive bonds and reducing substance use and risky sex in these relationships.

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

  • Altena, A. M., Brilleslijper-Kater, S. N., & Wolf, J. L. (2010). Effective interventions for homeless youth: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38, 637–645.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2001). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulhood: The winding road from late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachrnan, J. G., Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P., & Schulenberg, J. (1996). Transitions in drug use during late adolescence and young adulthood. In J. A. Graber, J. Brooks-Gunn, & A. C. Petersen (Eds.), Transitions through adolescence: Interpersonal domains and context (pp. 111–140). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braveman, P., & Gruskin, S. (2003). Poverty, equity, human rights and health. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 81, 539–545.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and by design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, K. E., & Lee, B. A. (1991). Name generators in surveys of personal networks. Social Networks, 13, 203–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Committee on the Science of Adolescence. (2011). The science of adolescent risk-taking: Workshop report. Paper presented at the Board on Children, Youth, and Families; Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.

  • Duan, L., Chou, C. P., Andreeva, V. A., & Pentz, M. A. (2009). Trajectories of peer social influences as long-term predictors of drug use from early through late adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 454–465.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • El-Bassel, N., Jemmott, J. B., Landis, J. R., Pequegnat, W., Wingood, G. M., Wyatt, G. E., et al. (2010). National Institute of Mental Health Multisite Eban HIV/STD prevention intervention for African American HIV Serodiscordant couples: A cluster randomized trial. Archives of Internal Medicine, 170, 1594–1601.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ennett, S. T., Bailey, S. L., & Federman, E. B. (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 

  • Fernandes, A. L. (2007). Runaway and homeless youth: Demographics, programs, and emerging issues CRS report for congress. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, J. D. (1988). Possible effects of reference group-based social influence on AIDS-risk behavior and AIDS prevention. American Psychologist, 43, 914–920.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hagan, J., & McCarthy, B. (2005). Homeless youth and the perilous passage to adulthood. In D. W. Osgood, E. M. Foster, C. Flanagan, & G. R. Roth (Eds.), On your own without a net: The transition to adulthood for vulnerable populations (pp. 178–210). Chicago: University of Chicato Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halcon, L. L., & Lifson, A. R. (2004). Prevalence and predictors of sexual risk among homeless youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 71–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jemmott, J. B., I. I. I., Jemmott, L. S., Braverman, P. K., & Fong, G. T. (2005). HIV/STD risk reduction interventions for African American and Latino adolescent girls at an adolescent medicine clinic: A randomized controlled trial. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 159, 440–449.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jemmott, J. B., I. I. I., Jemmott, L. S., & Fong, G. T. (1998). Abstinence and safer sex HIV risk-reduction interventions for African American adolescents: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 279, 1529–1536.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M. J., Tajima, E. A., Herrenkohl, T. I., & Huang, B. (2009). Early child maltreatment, runaway youths, and risk of delinquency and victimization in adolescence: A mediational model. Social Work Research, 33, 19–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kral, A. H., Molnar, B. E., Booth, R. E., & Watters, J. K. (1997). Prevalence of sexual risk behavior 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 

  • Latkin, C. A., Forman, V., Knowlton, A., & Sherman, S. (2003). Norms, social networks, and HIV-related risk behaviors among urban disadvantaged drug users. Social Science and Medicine, 56, 465–476.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latkin, C. A., Mandell, W., Oziemkowska, M., Celentano, D. 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 

  • McCarty, C. (2002). Structure in personal networks. Journal of Social Structure, 3, 36.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarty, C., Bernard, H. R., Killworth, P. D., Johnsen, E. C., & Shelley, G. A. (1997). Eliciting representative samples of personal networks. Social Networks, 9, 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 

  • McMorris, B. J., Tyler, K. A., Whitbeck, L. B., & Hoyt, D. R. (2002). Familial and “on the street” risk factors associated with alcohol use among homeless and runaway adolescents. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 63, 34–44.

    PubMed  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 

  • Miethe, T. D., & Meier, R. F. (1990). Opportunity, choice and criminal victimization: A test of a theoretical model. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 27, 243–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milburn, N. G., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Batterham, P., Brumback, B., Rosenthal, D., & Mallett, S. (2005). Predictors of close family relationships over one year among homeless young people. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 263–275.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naranbhai, V., Karim, A., & Meyer-Weitz, A. (2011). Interventions to modify sexual risk behaviors for preventing HIV in homeless youth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Art. No. CD007501.

  • Osgood, D. W., Foster, E. M., Flanagan, C., & Roth, G. R. (2005). On your own without a net: The transition to adulthood for vulnerable populations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rice, E. (2010). The positive role of social networks and social networking technology in the condom-using behaviors of homeless young people. Public Health Reports, 125, 588–595.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, E., Milburn, N. G., & Rotheram-Borus, M. J. (2007). Pro-social and problematic peer 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., 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., 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 

  • Sallis, J. F., Cervero, R. B., Ascher, W., Henderson, K. A., Kraft, M. K., & Kerr, J. (2006). An ecological approach to creating active living communities. Annual Review of Public Health, 27, 297–322.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salomonsen-Sautel, S., Van Leeuwen, J. M., Gilroy, C., Boyle, S., Malberg, D., & Hopfer, C. (2008). Correlates of substance use among homeless youths in eight cities. American Journal of Addictions, 17, 224–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • StataCorp. (2007). Stata Statistical Software: Release 10. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.

  • Stefancic, A., & Tsemberis, S. (2007). Housing first for long-term shelter dwellers with psychiatric disabilities in a suburban county: A four-year study of housing access and retention. Journal of Primary Prevention, 28, 265–279.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, J. A., Milburn, N. G., Zane, J. I., & Rotheram-Borus, M. J. (2009). Paternal and maternal influences on problem behaviors among homeless and runaway youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79, 39–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stokols, D. (1992). Establishing and maintaining healthy environments. Toward a social ecology of health promotion. American Psychologist, 47, 6–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thrane, L. E., Hoyt, D. R., Whitbeck, L. B., & Yoder, K. A. (2006). Impact of family abuse on running away, deviance, and street victimization among homeless rural and urban youth. Child Abuse and Neglect, 30, 1117–1128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, J. S. (2007). Drug use, social context, and HIV risk in homeless youth (R01 DA020351). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, J. S., Kennedy, D., Ryan, G., Wenzel, S. L., Golinelli, D., & Zazzali, J. (2009). Homeless women’s personal networks: Implications for understanding risk behavior. Hum Organ, 68, 129–140.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, J. S., Ryan, G., Golinelli, D., Munjas, B., Wenzel, S. L., Kennedy, D. P., et al. (In press). Substance use and other risk factors for unprotected sex: Results from an event-based study of homeless youth. AIDS and Behavior.

  • Tyler, K. A., Hoyt, D. R., & Whitbeck, L. B. (2000a). The effects of early sexual abuse on later sexual victimization among female homeless and runaway adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 235–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valente, T. W., Ritt-Olson, A., Stacy, A., Unger, J. B., Okamoto, J., & Sussman, S. (2007). Peer acceleration: effects of a social network tailored substance abuse prevention program among high-risk adolescents. Addiction, 102, 1804–1815.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzel, S. L., Green, H. D., Jr., Tucker, J. S., Golinelli, D., Kennedy, D. P., Ryan, G., et al. (2009). The social context of homeless women’s alcohol and drug use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 105, 16–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzel, S. L., Hambarsoomian, K., D’Amico, E. J., Ellison, M., & Tucker, J. S. (2006). Victimization and health among indigent young women in the transition to adulthood: A portrait of need. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 536–543.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzel, S. L., Koegel, P., & Gelberg, L. (2000). Antecedents of physical and sexual victimization among homeless women: A comparison to homeless men. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 367–390.

    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., Chen, X., Hoyt, D. R., Tyler, K. A., & Johnson, K. D. (2004). Mental disorder, subsistence strategies, and victimization among gay, lesbian, and bisexual homeless and runaway adolescents. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 329–342.

    Article  PubMed  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 the National Institute on Drug Abuse. We thank the youth who shared their experiences with us, the service agencies that collaborated in the study, and the RAND Survey Research Group for their assistance in data collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0411, USA

    Suzanne Wenzel & Ian Holloway

  2. RAND Health, Santa Monica, CA, USA

    Suzanne Wenzel, Daniela Golinelli, Brett Ewing, Richard Bowman & Joan Tucker

Authors
  1. Suzanne Wenzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ian Holloway
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniela Golinelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Brett Ewing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Richard Bowman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Joan Tucker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suzanne Wenzel.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wenzel, S., Holloway, I., Golinelli, D. et al. Social Networks of Homeless Youth in Emerging Adulthood. J Youth Adolescence 41, 561–571 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9709-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9709-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation