The effects of a high risk environment on the sexual victimization of homeless and runaway youth

This study examines the effects of a high-risk environment on the sexual victimization of 311 homeless and runaway youth. Based on the structural-choice theory of victimization, it was hypothesized that the daily routines and lifestyles of these young people would enhance contact between potential offenders and potential victims. It was also expected that the subjective utility of potential targets would determine whether they would potentially become victims. Taken together, these two propositions are expected to determine who is most likely to be at risk for sexual victimization. Three sets of logistic regression models were run using three different dependent variables. Results from the first set of models revealed that survival sex, age, gender, and grooming were all significantly associated with total sexual victimization. Findings from the second set of models indicated that the amount of time youths spent sleeping on the street, the age at which they first ran away, participating in survival sex, and gender were significantly related to stranger sexual victimization. Finally, deviant subsistence strategies, survival sex, gender, and grooming were all related to being a victim of friend sexual victimization. The results from a series of interactions also revealed that the effects of deviant behaviors on sexual victimization varied by gender and age but only for total sexual victimization and friend sexual victimization. The findings from the current study provide support for the structural-choice theory of victimization. Due to the difficulties of survival in a hostile and exploitative street environment, the lifestyles and daily routines of homeless and runaway youth may put them at increased risk. However, their likelihood of becoming victims depends upon the motives of the offender. Those who have characteristics that are congruent with the sexual offender\u27s needs are more likely to experience sexual victimization. This suggests that it is the interaction of both structural components and choice components that determine who will become a victim of sexual assault

The Relationship Between College Student Characteristics and Reporting Sexual Assault Experiences on Two Different Scales

Though high rates of sexual assault are found on college campuses, prevalence rates between studies can vary considerable by gender, sexual orientation, and other student characteristics. Thus, it is unknown whether these are “true” differences for such characteristics or if there are methodological differences to consider. As such the current study examined whether student characteristics including gender, race, sexual orientation, sexual attraction, Greek affiliation, and relationship status are uniquely associated with reporting on two different sexual assault scales. Data were gathered from 783 college students in 2019–2020 at a large Midwestern university. Results revealed that the two different scales consistently provided different prevalence rates of sexual assault. Moreover, for each type of sexual assault (e.g., coercion, incapacitation, and physical force), there were also significant differences with students consistently reporting higher prevalence rates on one scale over the other. Finally, significant differences were found in prevalence rates across gender, sexual attraction, and Greek affiliated status

Examining the Feasibility of Ecological Momentary Assessment Using Short Message Service Surveying with Homeless Youth: Lessons Learned

We assessed the feasibility of ecological momentary assessment using short message service (SMS) surveying with 150 homeless youth. We found that on average, participants completed 18.8 days of texts, but 30% of youth (N = 44) had texting data on 28 or more days. The average number of texts answered per day was 8.49 (of a possible 11). Forty-three percent of days had answers to all 11 texts sent that day, and 69.4% of days had answers to eight or more texts. We found significant differences in response rates by phone type. Seventy-three percent of youth reported that responding to our texts was very easy or somewhat easy and 69% endorsed the response option “just enough,” regarding the number of texts sent per day. The 30-day texting period was deemed “about right” by 74% of youth. Details of using SMS with homeless youth are provided, and results indicate that this data collection technique is feasible with this population. (Includes supplementary materials.

Adolescent Sexual Onset: An Intergenerational Analysis

Adolescents have begun to initiate sexual activity at increasingly early ages in the past few decades. Using a sample of 2,494 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), structural and parental process variables were examined in the prediction of sexual onset. Results indicated that the age at which youth initiate sexual intercourse is related to the structural characteristics of their grandmothers and mothers, as well as puberty, gender, and race. There is support for partial mediation of the effects of these grandmother characteristics via mother characteristics and parental process. Results are discussed within the framework of the life course perspective and provide support for the importance of previous generations in the explanation of adolescent sexual behavior. Implications for families and adolescents are also addressed

Child abuse, mental health and sleeping arrangements among homeless youth: Links to physical and sexual street victimization

Physical safety is a primary concern among homeless youth because they struggle to secure basic necessities and a permanent place to live. Despite this, studies have not fully examined the numerous linkages that might explain risk for victimization within the context of material insecurity. In this study, we examine multiple levels of both proximal and distal risk factors at the individual (e.g. mental health), family (e.g. child abuse), and environmental levels (e.g. finding necessities) and their associations with physical and sexual street victimization among 150 Midwestern homeless youth. Results from path analyses show that child physical abuse is positively associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, locating necessities, and street physical victimization. Having difficulties finding basic necessities is positively correlated with street physical victimization. Experiencing child sexual abuse is positively associated with street sexual victimization. Additionally, sleeping at certain locations (e.g. violence shelter, in a car) is associated with less sexual street victimization compared to temporarily staying with a family member. These findings have implications for service providers working to improve the safety and well-being of homeless youth

Bullying at School and on the Street: Risk Factors and Outcomes Among Homeless Youth

Though rates of bullying among general population youth are high, there is elevated prevalence among certain subgroups, in particular sexual minority homeless youth. Enduring bullying can have devastating consequences, including poor mental health, revictimization, and substance abuse. The current study compares risk factors (i.e., sexual orientation, gender, and child abuse) for being bullied both at school and on the street among homeless youth. We also examine the associations of both contexts of bullying (i.e., at school and on the street) with physical and sexual victimization while on the street, with illicit drug use. From July 2014 to October 2015, we interviewed 150 homeless youth aged 16 to 22 years in shelters and on the streets from two Midwestern cities. Our sample was 51% female and 22% identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). Results revealed that LGB youth experienced more frequent bullying at school and were more likely to have ever used one or more illicit drugs at least a few times compared with heterosexual youth. Moreover, youth who experienced more child abuse prior to leaving home were also victimized more often at school (school bullying) and on the street (street bullying). Young people who experienced more sexual and physical street victimization were more likely to report illicit drug use compared with those who had fewer street victimization experiences. Overall, youth who experience victimization in one context (i.e., home) are at heightened risk for being bullied in additional contexts (i.e., school). These findings have important policy and service intervention implications, such that service providers should attend to homeless youth’s multiple social contexts of victimization and the potential for youth’s illicit drug use as a coping mechanism