YOUTH HOMELESSNESS: ABUSE,GENDER, AND THE PROCESS OF ADJUSTMENT TO LIFE ON THE STREETS

Interviews were conducted with 66 homeless adolescents from various parts of Brisbane. Information regarding incidence of abuse, reasons for leaving home and lifestyle on the streets was sought. Homeless adolescents were compared using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire and the Beck Hopelessness Scale, by gender and whether they were abused or not. There were differences related to gender, but not to the abuse category. Females showed lower levels of self esteem and less sense of hope for the future than males. Changes in levels of self-esteem, sense of hopelessness and incidence of self-inflicted injury were used to examine the process of adjustment to homelessness. Findings revealed that the levels of self-harm were different for abused and non-abused adolescents. The abused maintained similar levels of self-harm over time, whereas the self-harming behaviour in non-abused adolescents increased after six months but then decreased to previous low levels.