The effects of exposure to violence on the health and well-being of homeless youth in inner city Toronto
Subtitle: an ecological approach
By: by Shirley Bo Yee Chau.
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9780494159569
Description: Research on homeless youth has documented the complex circumstances that lead some youths to leave home and live on the streets, including a history of family violence and child abuse. Many youth leave home because they perceive the streets as a safer alternative to living at home. Paradoxically, the factors that drove them to leave home also exist on the streets, particularly exposure to violence.The homeless youth who completed the survey have extensive histories of homelessness: 49% have been homeless for 3.5 years or more, 21% for 13 months to less than 3.5 years, and 30% for a year or less. Fifty-six percent of the respondents were male. Nearly 50% of the homeless youth in this study were exposed to considerable violence on the streets. The survey also found that factors such as family violence and exposure to violence on the streets were significant predictors of poor psychological functioning and that social environment variables such as neighbourhood disadvantage was a significant predictor for exposure to violence on the streets, but had no relationship to health status or psychological functioning.Using an ecological systems framework, this study explores the exposure to violence of Canadian homeless youth in Toronto's inner city and the effects of this exposure on their health and well-being. The research involved a survey using standardized measures that was completed by 165 homeless youth over a period of eight months. Associations between exposure to violence and outcomes in health status, psychological functioning, psychological distress, and service use and satisfaction were explored using correlation tests and hierarchical multiple regression analyses.These findings challenge perceptions that homeless youth are hardened and unaffected by violence. Youth who live on the streets are vulnerable victims of violence and may suffer great psychological stress. The findings have implications for service delivery and social care for homeless youth. Holistic and comprehensive approaches to service delivery are needed to meet their many needs. These approaches must take into account the impact of psychological distress and the fact that homeless youth need supports beyond those that meet subsistence needs only. Social workers and other community workers should receive training in how to assess psychological distress in vulnerable and marginalized populations, and in how to provide services to deal with the traumatic effects of exposure to violence on these young people, both as victims and witnesses.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2749.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

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