Exploring the Relationship between Foster Care Experiences and Social Network Engagement Among a Sample of Homeless Former Foster Youth.

Introduction: 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.

Methods: Data were collected from 184 homeless former foster youth at a drop-in center in Hollywood, California.

Exploring the Relationship Between Foster Care Experiences and HIV Risk Behaviors Among a Sample of Homeless Former Foster Youth.

Recent research shows high rates of poor behavioral health outcomes among homeless former foster youth, including increased risk for HIV-risk behaviors. In the current study, data were collected from 184 youth at drop-in centers in Los Angeles using behavioral health questionnaires to explore the relationships between specific aspects of foster care experiences and engagement in HIV-risk behaviors. Results indicated that youth whose first homelessness experience occurred before leaving foster care were significantly more likely to engage in drug use with sex and exchange sex than those whose first homelessness experience occurred after leaving foster care.

Social Networking Technology Use and Engagement in HIV-Related Risk and Protective Behaviors Among Homeless Youth.

Preliminary studies with homeless youth have found surprisingly pervasive social media use and suggest that youth's online interactions may be associated with their HIV-related risk and protective behaviors. As homeless youth are transient and difficult to engage in place-based services, social media may represent a novel venue for intervention. A critical 1st step in intervention development is gaining greater understanding of how homeless youth use social media, especially as it relates to who they connect to and around what topics.

Exploring the impact of network characteristics on substance use outcomes among homeless former foster youth.

Objectives: This study examined network structure differences between homeless youth with and without a history of foster care and the impact of network position and location on substance use outcomes among former foster youth specifically.

Methods: Sociometric and individual-level data were collected from a cross-sectional community-based sample (n = 814) of homeless youth from drop-in centers in Los Angeles across three points in time. To determine the structure and position of foster youth in the larger homeless network, structural variables and regressions examining the impact of network structure on substance use were calculated.

Sociometric network structure and its association with methamphetamine use norms among homeless youth.

Homeless youths' social networks are consistently linked with their substance use. Social networks influence behavior through several mechanisms, especially social norms. This study used sociometric analyses to understand whether social norms of drug use behaviors are clustered in network structures and whether these perceived norms (descriptive and injunctive) influence youths' drug use behaviors.

Bidirectional Intimate Partner Violence and Drug Use Among Homeless Youth.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) among homeless youth (HY) is common, yet it has continuously been understudied, especially in relation to substance use. As part of a longitudinal study of Los Angeles area HY, drop-in service seeking youth completed a self-administered questionnaire. The presented results are from the third panel of data collection ( N = 238), and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) was used to assess IPV behavior regarding the participant's most recent intimate relationship.

Methamphetamine Use among Homeless Former Foster Youth: The Mediating Role of Social Networks.

Objectives: Social network analysis can provide added causal insight into otherwise confusing epidemiologic findings in public health research. Although foster care and homelessness are risk factors for methamphetamine use, current research has failed to explicate why homeless youth with foster care experience engage in methamphetamine use at higher rates than other homeless young adults. This study examined the mediating effect of network engagement and time spent homeless on the relationship between foster care experience and recent methamphetamine use among homeless youth in Los Angeles.

Preventing severe and fatal child maltreatment: making the case for the expanded use and integration of data.

In this article we examine risk factors for severe and fatal child maltreatment. These factors emerge from studies based on different data sources, including official child maltreatment data, emergency department and hospitalization data, death certificates, and data from child death review teams. The empirical literature reflects a growing effort to overcome the measurement uncertainties of any one individual data system.