Using data from the 1995 Gallup Poll and a 1988 ABC News poll, examines the relationships between problematic drinking in the home and youth suicide rates. The hypothesis that chronic stress, as measured by problem drinking in the home, is related to youth suicide was supported. (MKA)

Shelter staff from 8 states completed Client Information Records on 2,019 runaways. Found significant differences in problems reported by physically abused and sexually abused runaways when compared to nonabused runaway peers. Runaways who were both physically and sexually maltreated were significantly more vulnerable and much worse off than those…

"Covert suicide" refers to self-destructive behavior whose suicidal intent is denied by the adolescent and his/her family. Such behaviors are considered to be an outcome of certain family dynamics and processes. Case examples are given, and issues presented to the clinician in assessing and making initial interventions are discussed. (Author/BL)

The author's principal concerns are (1) the impact of detention on youth, family, and community; (2) the elements of sound intake processes; and (3) the roles of detention personnel and counselors or probation officers following admission, and how these roles might be deployed to insure minimal social losses to detained juveniles. (Author/DB)

Examined Orten and Soll's typology and Homer's conceptualization of runaways as "running from" or "running to" something; expanded context to include interactions with family and professionals. Used case study and survey of nine adolescent runaways from residential setting to explore hypotheses. Found majority ran away from…

Discusses importance of family therapy as part of armamentarium of school-based social work. Provides rationale for school-based intervention. Argues that family therapy should be emphasized in school because school social workers are in strategic position to assess family dysfunction. Notes that adolescents' problems must be understood in context…

Investigated whether runaway behavior could be related to six problematic areas. Selected scales of the Personality Inventory for Children, representing the six areas, were hypothesized to discriminate between an adolescent runaway group (N=60) and a control group (N-60). The runaway group was not significantly different from a known clinical…

During first year of operation, Teen Line (peer telephone listening service) received 2,270 calls, two-thirds of which were from females. Four percent of topics discussed dealt with crisis situations (suicide, physical abuse); 96 percent were concerned with issues such as peer relationships, family dynamics, and need to have someone "to talk to."…

Runaway behavior is presented from the point of view of 26 teenagers in a rural New England shelter. Reasons for running include seeking freedom from abusive treatment, and a search for connection. Running was found to be a "last resort" behavior. Many youths expressed the desire for reconciliation. (Author/EMK)

Examined crisis intervention techniques in a community-based setting, including factors of immediacy of response, location, prior identification, and flexibility of service. Found crisis intervention techniques viable and valuable in identification and preventive intervention of family and individual problems, demonstrating reduced conflict and a…

Reviews the literature on drug abuse in Nigeria, extracting some of the psychosocial variables involved. Family problems, social factors, and medical practices are discussed. Psychosocial variables implicated are not different from those observed in other cultures. (JAC)

Explored adolescent seat belt use and psychosocial risk factors in urban minority population (n=541). Found seat belt use reported by 49 percent of respondents. Those reporting no or intermittent seat belt use were significantly more likely than seat belt users to feel down, have decreased home support, have problems with school and the law, and…

Compared 30 adolescent runaways to 30 nonrunaways for age, sex, ethnicity and family structure. Empathy and positive regard were measured between adolescents and their parents. Runaways and their parents reported far less empathy and positive regard from each other as compared to the nonrunaways and their parents. (Author/JAC)

Examines family-of-origin stress, age of first menarche, and the perceptions of pregnancy as a life event in 97 pregnant adolescents. Participants' reported high levels of family stress with only a moderate level of impact or stress attributed to the pregnancy. As a group, the girls' first menarche matched national averages. (RJM)