Perceived self-image of escapist and throwaway runaways.

It has been estimated that several million youngsters run away from home every year in the USA. The present research was conducted to determine the extent to which the escapist and throwaway runaways perceived their self-image. It focused on variables the runaways perceived as the most significant for them regarding perception of self. Results indicated that escapists tend to perceive themselves with greater self-worth, self-confidence, and self-motivation than did the throwaways. The latter Ss tend to perceive themselves with greater self-acceptance and self-depression compared to the former group, while both S groups had no significant difference in their perceptions of self-reliance.