New Study Finds a Connection Between Family Characteristics and Adolescent Runaway Behavior

Between 1.6 million and 2.8 million youth run away in a year.  While bullying and other peer issues dominate the news, they are not the leading reasons why youth run. The National Runaway Safeline (NRS), 24/7 hotline and online services for runaway, homeless and at-risk youth, found that 28 percent of youth who contacted the organization in 2013 identified family dynamics (e.g., divorce, remarriage, or problems with siblings) as a reason for reaching out for help.

A new study from NRS investigates the correlation between family characteristics and adolescent runaway behavior. It reveals specific family characteristics that can predict runaway behavior, including:

• Parents who binge drink have kids who are more than twice as likely to run away from home compared to parents who never binge drink.
• Parents who report that they get along well with their children and those that report high levels of trust in their kids have children with lower runaway rates.
• Youth who have been physically, mentally, or sexually abused are more likely to run away from home compared to those who have not been abused (40 percent more likely, 40 percent more likely, and 30 percent more likely, respectively).
• For youth whose parent has had to live apart from them for six months or more, the likelihood of running away more than doubles, from 7.5 percent to 16.6 percent.
• Youth who have been in foster care are more than 2.5 times more likely to run away than those who have not.

Understanding the family characteristics that are predictive of runaway behavior is an important step to untangling the complex causes of running away from home and the best ways to prevent it. More specifically, studies like this help NRS better understand what’s affecting today’s youth so it can enhance its programs and services to better support them.

For the full study or runaway prevention tips, visit 1800RUNAWAY.org.

Maureen Blaha is the executive director of the National Runaway Safeline (NRS), an organization with the mission to keep America's runaway, homeless and at-risk youth safe and off the streets. Under her leadership, the visibility of NRS and awareness of its 1-800-RUNAWAY hotline has grown, while support has steadily increased in both personnel and finances. New platforms to connect with youth and parents have been added, including live chat, bulletin board postings and crisis emails, as well as an expansion of social media activities. Additionally, Blaha has been a featured speaker of the Special Victims Assistance Unit for the FBI (2005 and 2010), was invited to speak to UK parliament to help launch The Children's Society of England's national Safe and Sound Campaign (2005), and represented the runaway population at the groundbreaking White House Conference on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children (2002).  Blaha was selected as the recipient of the CASA of Cook County 2010 Spirit Award and selected to participate in the Laura and John Arnold Giving Library for high-end donors.  Blaha serves on the Interstate Commission for Juveniles, appointed in 2009. Blaha was also selected as an expert for Kids in the House (2012).