suggested that changes in the family structure and relationships in the home (such as .
death, divorce, parental dissension, or the presence of a new adult) could create strain on .
"normal" family relationships to motivate a child to runaway.
"For some youth, running away is a way of coping with the maltreatment inflicted on .
them in their current living situation. An increasing number of studies show a high .
incidence of maltreatment among samples of runaways and that youth leave home .
because they have been physically or sexually abused, or "pushed out" by their families." .
(Kurtz, Kurtz & Jarvis, 1991 a).
.
There is a large group of children who have been "pushed out" of their homes by a .
parent or legal guardian. This category is called "throwaways". These youths are .
homeless through no choice but of their own. The term runaway implies voluntary .
departure from, but as Sweet points out "Children thrown or locked out of their homes .
constitute 22% of the combined total of runaways and throwaways". (1990).
Many experts agree that running away is not usually an impulsive reaction to a new .
problem. Rather, it is a way of coping with or escaping from long-standing problems that .
have become intolerable. (Kurtz, Kurtz & Jarvis, 1991 a) Whether it be too much .
responsibility, not enough freedom, a new step-parent, or any other unwanted change, the .
youth is running for a reason. Some of the youths run to something, and some run for a .
reason. Some just run because they are anxious and do not know which way to turn.
In virtually all studies reviewed, the majority of runaways came from broken homes. .
VanHouten and Golemiewski (1978) found that in their sample of over six hundred .
runaways less than 1/3 lived with both natural parents. Their sample showed that 19.5% .
of the runaway youths lived with mother only, 2.6% lived with father only, 15.8% lived .
with mother and stepfather and 6.1% lived with father and stepmother.