Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital Campus, 50 Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.
Centre for Adolescent Health, The Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Prev Sci. 2022 Jan;23(1):85-95. doi: 10.1007/s11121-021-01267-y. Epub 2021 Jun 28.
Adolescent and young adult health, development, and behavior lay a foundation for future population health. Increasing rates of young adult homelessness mean there is a need for research which generates evidence to support a stronger focus on population-level prevention. Using longitudinal data from a population-based sample of young adults participating in the cross-nationally matched International Youth Development Study, we examined adolescent antecedents of young adult homelessness in Washington State in the USA and in Victoria, Australia. Participants were surveyed using a modified version of the Communities That Care youth survey. Analyses of prospective, longitudinal data from 1945 participants, recruited as state-representative secondary school samples at grade 7 (average age 13, 2002) and longitudinally compared at young adulthood (average age 25, 2014), showed that young adults in Washington State reported higher rates of past year homelessness (5.24%) compared to those in Victoria (3.25%). Path modeling showed less positive family management strategies at age 13 uniquely increased risk for age 25 homelessness. This effect remained after accounting for age 15 antecedents in peer-group, school, and community environments. Friends' drug use, school suspension, academic failure, and low neighborhood attachment at age 15 mediated the association between less positive family management strategies at age 13 and age 25 homelessness. Despite observing some cross-national differences in levels of family, peer-group, school, and community antecedents, we found that these factors equally increased risk for age 25 homelessness in both states, suggesting similar cross-national influences for young adult homelessness. The findings indicate cross-nationally common adolescent antecedents for young adult homelessness that could be targeted by prevention strategies across international settings.
青少年和青年健康、发展和行为为未来的人口健康奠定了基础。越来越多的年轻成年人无家可归，这意味着需要开展研究，为更加注重人口层面的预防提供证据。本研究利用参与国际青年发展研究（International Youth Development Study）的美国华盛顿州和澳大利亚维多利亚州的基于人群的年轻成年人样本的纵向数据，调查了青少年时期与成年早期无家可归相关的因素。研究采用了改良版的社区关怀青少年调查（Communities That Care youth survey）对参与者进行调查。对 1945 名参与者前瞻性、纵向数据的分析显示，与维多利亚州（3.25%）相比，华盛顿州的年轻成年人过去一年的无家可归率更高（5.24%）。该州的参与者是作为州代表性的中学 7 年级（平均年龄 13 岁，2002 年）样本招募的，并在成年早期（平均年龄 25 岁，2014 年）进行纵向比较。路径模型显示，13 岁时较少积极的家庭管理策略会增加 25 岁时无家可归的风险。在考虑到同伴、学校和社区环境中 15 岁的先前因素后，这种影响仍然存在。15 岁时朋友的药物使用、停学、学业失败和邻里关系薄弱会影响 13 岁时较少积极的家庭管理策略与 25 岁时无家可归之间的关联。尽管观察到家庭、同伴群体、学校和社区先前因素在两国之间存在一些差异，但我们发现这些因素同样会增加两个州 25 岁时无家可归的风险，这表明国际上对年轻成年人无家可归的影响相似。研究结果表明，青少年无家可归的跨国家共同的先前因素，可以成为国际环境中预防策略的目标。
