Lisa E. Thrane

Onset of Conduct Disorder, Use of Delinquent Subsistence Strategies, and Street Victimization Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents in the Midwest

This study examines the effects of childhood-onset conduct disorder on later antisocial behavior and street victimization among a group of homeless and runaway adolescents. Four hundred twenty-eight homeless and runaway youth were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters from four Midwestern states. Key findings include the following. First, compared with those who exhibit adolescent-onset conduct disorder, youth with childhood onset are more likely to engage in a series of antisocial behaviors such as use of sexual and nonsexual survival strategies. Second, youth with childhood-onset conduct disorder are more likely to experience violent victimization; this association, however, is mostly through an intervening process such as engagement in deviant survival strategies.

Lost in cyberspace: barriers to bridging the digital divide in e-politics

In our analysis of e-political participation among a 2003-random sample survey of 478 respondents drawn from Iowa, Pennsylvania and Colorado, six blocks of variables were entered: (1) socio-demographic (2) place effects, (3) voting, (4) technology use (VCR, cell phone, etc.) and computer apathy, (5) attitudes toward technology and (6) specific uses of the internet. In the final block, younger and White respondents are more apt to be e-citizens. Computer training apathy decreases, and IT advantages increase, support for e-citizenry. Seeking medical e-information and making e-purchases increases engagement in e-politics. No main effects of place are found. For Colorado and Iowa residents, less-engaged voters reported less online political engagement, while those who are more likely to vote are also more likely to be advocates of e-politics. The final model explains 56% of the variation in e-government participation.

The influence of running away on the risk of female sexual assault in the subsequent year.

This study explores the sexual risk trajectories of female youths and sheds light on the long-term effects of running away. It evaluates whether running away increases the risk of sexual assault in the following year, which is after runaways return home. The sample consists of 5,387 heterosexual females between the ages of 11 and 18 years from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Nearly one quarter (23%) of runaways report a previous sexual assault in contrast to 5% of nonrunaways. In a logistic regression model, childhood neglect increases the risk of sexual assault between Waves 1 and 2 by nearly two times. Poor mental health is statistically significant. Alcohol use doubles the odds of sexual assault. The risk of sexual assault is approximately three-fold for girls with a history of sexual onset and sexual touching in a romantic relationship. Running away increases the risk by nearly two and a half times. There is evidence that alcohol use and sexual onset partially mediates the relationship between running away and sexual assault.

Generational Differences in Information Technology Use and Political Involvement

A structural equation model analysis of data from a 2003 national random sample survey (n = 478) on informational technology (IT) reveals important direct and indirect effects of generational demographic and attitudinal differences on electronic forms of political participation. Younger respondents reported more support for IT and fewer technological disadvantages compared to older respondents. Younger respondents showed more desire for public IT availability and e-political participation, whereas older respondents preferred traditional electoral involvement. The more educated held more favorable views of IT generally and of public IT access more specifically. Better-educated respondents were more active civically in both traditional and electronic forms of participation. Supportive technological views led to greater e-political participation and stronger interest in e-elections. Respondents with less concern and fear about IT were more likely to act as digital citizens and were more involved in e-politics and e-elections. Proponents of public IT access were more supportive of e-elections. Our model suggests that e-citizenry will compound existing societal divisions, as non-electronic voices are marginalized and electronic voices are amplified.

Predictors of police contact among Midwestern homeless and runaway youth

Research has substantiated that homeless and runaway youth are at high risk for offending and deviant behavior. Although gender, abuse, and deviant peers have been implicated in arrests among homeless youth, we know less about whether these precursors operate similarly for police harassment as well as for postrunaway arrest. In a study of 361 Midwestern homeless and runaway youth, several differences were noted between the predictors of arrest and police harassment. First, path-analytic techniques demonstrated that having deviant friends promoted harassment but not arrest. Second, substance use was the impetus for police harassment, whereas age at first runaway was consequential for arrest. Third, physically abused youth encountered more harassment, yet minor delinquent behavior increased the risk of arrest.

Impact of Running Away on Girls' Sexual Onset

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to longitudinally examine the impact of running away on sexual onset, and to determine the 12-month prevalence of sexual onset among runaway females. METHODS The sample consists of adolescent females from Waves 1 and 2 of the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=4,564; age range=11-18 years). Voluntary or involuntary sexual onset at Wave 1 results in exclusion from the analysis. A logistic regression model is fit, which examines sociodemographic characteristics, protective factors (e.g., parental and academic bonds), and running away and other risk behaviors on sexual onset. RESULTS Our study confirms that more than one out of thee females becomes sexually active within 12 months of running away. Only 17% of females who never report a runaway episode experience sexual onset. School bonds, dating and romance, alcohol use, delinquency, and runaway behavior have main effects in the longitudinal analysis. Runaways are 1.7 times more likely to report sexual onset. CONCLUSIONS This study applies the risk amplification model to runaways in the general population. Running away is a turning point in the developmental trajectory, and puts girls at risk of sexual onset a year later compared to their nonrunaway counterparts. A multipronged approach is needed to address the sexual risk characteristics of girls who return home.

E-Political Empowerment: Age Effects or Attitudinal Barriers?

Abstract Results of data from a 2003 national computer-assisted telephone interview random sample survey (n= 478 completed surveys were returned) are reported. Adult respondents living in Colorado, Iowa, and Pennsylvania were eligible for participation. Of respondents 55 and older, 49% had a home computer, 46% used e-mail, and 43% used the Internet. For seniors 75 and older, 19% had a home computer, 15% used e-mail, and 19% used the Internet. A fully saturated structural equation model with observed variables was estimated. Our survey results leave little doubt that demographics (age, education), attitudes toward the role of technology (IT advantages, computer apathy), and behavior (use of technology in daily life) play a role in determining patterns of electronic citizenship. Most (74%) of the negative total effect of age on e-politics was indirect, as was nearly half (47%) of the effect of education on e-politics. Since attitudes toward technology are formative barriers to digital citizenship, service-learning may be a key ingredient in challenging technological attitudes and increasing electoral participation of marginalized groups.

Consequences of runaway and thrownaway experiences for sexual minority health during the transition to adulthood

ABSTRACT Sexual minority youth are more likely to run away from home or experience homelessness, leaving them at increased risk of victimization and negative health outcomes. In this study, the authors use a developmental perspective that considers both vulnerable beginnings in families and the risky trajectories that follow to explore the connections between running away or being thrown out by parents and sexual minority womens and mens health in adulthood. Using four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the authors consider multiple dimensions of health and several potential intervening mechanisms. Findings suggest that runaway and thrownaway experiences have persistent negative effects on health into adulthood, in part because of their association with sexual victimization, educational attainment, and relationships with parents. Sexual minority men who have been thrown out by parents report a greater likelihood of suicidal ideation, smoking, and substance use into adulthood. Sexual minority women with runaway experiences have poorer health and increased depressive symptoms, while women with thrownaway experiences engage in more health risk behaviors. Sexual victimization stands out as a key mechanism for sexual minority womens health, as more than half of these young women report experiences of sexual victimization.