Yoshioka-Maxwell Amanda, Rice Eric
University of Hawaii at Manoa.
University of Southern California.
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2020 Sep;116. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105132. Epub 2020 Jun 6.
Recent research has begun to demonstrate high rates of poor behavioral health outcomes among homeless former foster, but with relatively little attention in the scientific literature. Because social networks have been shown to impact behavioral health outcomes, we need to better understand the network characteristics of homeless young adults with a history of foster care.
Data were collected from 184 homeless former foster youth at a drop-in center in Hollywood, California. A series of logistic regressions were conducted for network engagement behaviors that may be impacted by foster care experiences.
Youth were largely African American, Latino, and Mixed race, approximately 22 years old, and majority male. Significant results from the logistic regressions indicated that youth experiencing homelessness for the first time before exiting foster care were more likely to have alters engaging in condomless sex, and youth with higher numbers of foster care placements were more likely to have alters engaging in methamphetamine use.
These results suggest that certain foster care experiences impact the types of alters with which youths engage. Time spent in placement was significantly associated with alter behaviors, evident from homeless experiences and multiple foster care placements, negatively impacting the types of alters with which youths are connected, and thusly the risk factors for the youth themselves. Frequent network disruptions may be associated with engagement with risky alters. Included are intervention-based implications for providers as well as structural-based implications for child welfare systems.
近期研究已开始表明，曾经接受寄养的无家可归者中行为健康状况不佳的比例很高，但科学文献对此关注相对较少。由于社交网络已被证明会影响行为健康状况，我们需要更好地了解有寄养经历的无家可归青年的网络特征。
在加利福尼亚州好莱坞的一个救助中心，对184名曾经接受寄养的无家可归青年进行了数据收集。针对可能受寄养经历影响的网络参与行为进行了一系列逻辑回归分析。
这些青年主要是非洲裔美国人、拉丁裔和混血儿，年龄约22岁，多数为男性。逻辑回归分析的显著结果表明，在离开寄养机构之前首次经历无家可归的青年，其同伴更有可能发生无保护性行为；寄养安置次数较多的青年，其同伴更有可能使用甲基苯丙胺。
这些结果表明，某些寄养经历会影响青年所交往的同伴类型。从无家可归经历和多次寄养安置中可以明显看出，在寄养机构中度过的时间与同伴行为显著相关，这对青年所交往的同伴类型产生负面影响，进而影响青年自身的风险因素。频繁的社交网络中断可能与与有风险的同伴交往有关。其中包括对服务提供者基于干预的启示以及对儿童福利系统基于结构的启示。
