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Substance Use Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents

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Abstract

This chapter analyzes the rates and types of substance use and abuse among homeless and runaway youth and young people in the general population. In this chapter, the rates of street youth using substances such as tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, hallucinogens, methamphetamine, ketamine, heroin, and MDMA (ecstasy) are presented. In this chapter, risk factors such as the street youth’s demographic characteristics, parental use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs, family dysfunction, negative peer influence, and social networks are analyzed.

In addition, this chapter studies the extent to which such conditions as the trauma and stress of family abuse and conflict may increase the probability that runaway and homeless children and adolescents may use alcohol and other drugs to cope with these stressful and traumatic problems.

The stress and trauma of living on the streets also may increase the youth’s likelihood of using and abuse substances. This chapter examines the effects of housing instability and type of environmental setting on street youth’s use of alcohol and other drugs. The impact of mental disorders on substance use and abuse is also discussed. This chapter also discusses the effects of using alcohol and other drugs on violent behaviors; victimization; sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immune virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); and unintended pregnancies.

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  1. Nursing and Health Sciences, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA, USA

    Stephen J. Morewitz

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Morewitz, S.J. (2016). Substance Use Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents. In: Runaway and Homeless Youth. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30863-0_6

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