Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway
Youths: An Application of Concept Mapping
Jongserl Chun, PhD
David W. Springer, PhD
The number of runaway adolescents has continued to increase in recent years. Despite
the growth and pervasive problems of high levels of stress and low levels of positive
coping strategies to deal with this stress, scant research has been devoted to stress and
coping among this population. This study is the first of its kind to explore stressors and
coping strategies of runaway youths. Participants were male and female runaway
adolescents (N ¼ 53) living in a runaway shelter in Austin, Texas. Concept mapping,
a mixed-method approach, was used to collect, organize, and interpret qualitative data
through quantitative techniques. Concept mapping revealed six major clusters of
stressors: disrespect, living stability, anxiety, school, friends, and family. Five major coping
strategies emerged as well: relaxation, social support, going out, hobbies/interests, and
escaping. The conceptual framework can be utilized in planning and developing crisis
assessment and interventions with runaway youths experiencing high levels of stress.
[Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 5:57–74 (2005)]
KEY WORDS: runaway youth, stress, coping, concept mapping.
It is estimated that over 1 million youths run
away from home or are forced to leave home
each year (National Runaway Switchboard,
2001). There is a collective and common societal
perception that runaway youths leave their
homes in search of adventure and to assert their
independence (Kennedy, 1991). However, more
often than not, runaways leave, are forced to
From the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at
Austin.
Contact author: Jongserl Chun, The University of Texas at
Austin, School of Social Work, 1 University Station D3500,
Austin, Texas 78712. E-mail: [email protected].
doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/mhi008
leave, are rejected, or are abandoned by their
parents due to family conflicts, problems in
school, alienation, poverty, substance use, or
the death of caregivers (Bradley, 1997; Kurtz,
Jarvis, & Kurtz, 1991; Zide & Cherry, 1992).
Runaway youths tend to be out of school and
are often involved in drug dealing, drug abuse,
prostitution, and gangs (Green, Ringwalt, &
Iachan, 1997). Also, many of them engage in
risky sexual behaviors, which often result in
pregnancy, contraction of sexually transmitted
diseases (including HIV/AIDS), and sexual or
physical victimization (Unger et al., 1998).
Thus, runaways are under acute stress in
various areas of their lives, such as in their
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention Vol. 5 No. 1, ª Oxford University Press 2005; all rights reserved.
57
CHUN AND SPRINGER
personal lives, family lives, school lives, peer
relationships, health, and shelter lives (Bradley,
1997; Heusel, 1995; Menke, 2000).
Runaway youths may have high levels of
stress and low levels of effective coping strategies to deal with this stress. It is therefore important to examine stress and coping among
runaway youths. Despite the importance of this
issue, only a few studies have been conducted
that specifically examine stress and coping
strategies among runaways.
To thoroughly and accurately examine stressors and coping strategies in runaway youths,
a combination of quantitative and qualitative
approaches were needed. Concept mapping is a
useful method to organize and interpret qualitative data with quantitative techniques, resulting in a pictorial representation (Johnsen,
Biegel, & Shafran, 2000). Trochim (1989) suggested that the concept mapping methodology
is useful to develop a conceptual framework for
planning and evaluation because the framework is represented using the form of the
concept map. In concept mapping, data are
generated from participants’ own words, and
maps are interpreted regarding the meaning of
phenomenon in the actual context.
Despite the strengths of the method, concept
mapping has never been applied to the study of
runaway youths. This study involved both
quantitative and qualitative approaches using
the concept mapping method. Runaway youths’
concepts of stressors and coping strategies are
captured through their own language.
The three major research questions addressed
in this study were as follows:
1. What are the stressors experienced by
runaway youths?
2. What are the coping strategies used by
runaway youths?
The primary aim of this study was to explore
stressors and coping strategies in a sample of
58
runaway youths. The study also attempted to
discern if there were different patterns of
stressors and coping strategies according to
demographic variables among runaway youths,
such as gender and ethnicity. Finally, with a
greater understanding of the stress experienced
and the coping strategies used by runaway
youths, professionals can develop crisis assessment and intervention strategies that target and
encourage runaway adolescents to manage their
crises through positive coping behaviors, with
the ultimate goal of changing their living
situations from the streets to safer and more
stable places.
Literature Review
Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress,
Appraisal, and Coping Model
Lazarus and Folkman’s paradigm (1984) of
stress and coping drove the research questions
for this study. Lazarus and Folkman’s model
(1984) is the most frequently used theory to
explain concepts of stress and coping (RyanWenger, Sharrer, & Wynd, 2000). Although the
theory was not originally designed to explain
children’s stress, researchers have applied it as
such (Heusel, 1995; Ryan-Wenger, Sharrer, &
Wynd, 2000).
The key concepts of the model are stress,
cognitive appraisal, and coping. Stress is defined as a ‘‘particular relationship between the
person and the environment that is appraised
by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her
resources and endangering his or her wellbeing’’ (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 19). Coping
is used to manage needs and emotions caused
by recognized stress, and all coping options are
regarded as positive behaviors because they are
ways of managing stress (Lazarus & Folkman,
1984). The two types of coping strategies
within the framework are problem-focused
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway Youths
coping and emotion-focused coping. Problemfocused coping seeks to regulate or change
stressors by identifying a problem, gathering
information, finding alternative solutions, and
acting. Emotion-focused coping, in contrast,
seeks to control emotional responses to stressors
through such strategies as avoidance, distancing, selective attention, seeking emotional and
social support, and self-blame.
Several studies have used this framework to
explain stress and coping in runaway/homeless
youths (e.g., Dalton & Pakenham, 2002; Denoff,
1991; Huang & Menke, 2001; Landow &
Glenwick, 1999; Menke, 2000). This model is
beneficial in studying runaway youths because
it provides not only a solid framework (as used
in the current study) but also a framework for
treatment or prevention programs.
Stress and Coping Among Runaways
The runaway population is at high risk of
mental and physical danger because of contextspecific stressors and a lack of positive coping
skills. Researchers have begun to examine issues
that runaway and homeless youths face in coping with stressors (Dalton & Pakenham, 2002;
Davey & Neff, 2001; Horowitz, Boardman, &
Redlener, 1994; Landow & Glenwick, 1999;
Menke, 2000; Unger et al., 1998). To date,
however, few studies have specifically examined stress and coping strategies among runaways. Several studies have identified
stressors experienced by runaway youths
(Baumann, 1994; Heusel, 1995; Menke, 2000;
Roberts, 1982). Runaways are under acute
stress in various areas of their lives, including personal, family, school, peers, health,
and street life (Bradley, 1997; Heusel, 1995;
Menke, 2000).
Runaway youths are more likely to be
negatively influenced by stress because they
undergo greater stress in most areas of their lives
than nonrunaway youths. Stress affects the
mental health of runaway adolescents. High
levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal
ideation have been positively correlated with
stress among runaway adolescents (Ayerst, 1999;
Huang & Menke, 2001; Menke, 2000; Zima et al.,
1999). Highly stressful events experienced by
runway youths have been shown to contribute to
depressive outcomes when effective coping
mechanisms are not present (Rudolph & Hammen,
1999). Adolescence is a period in which
permanent coping mechanisms are developed
(Bradley, 1997), and it is evident that stress has
harmful effects on the mental health, physical
health, and social life of adolescents. The use of
effective coping mechanisms can alleviate the
harmful effects of stress (Thoits, 1995).
Most runaway youths cope with stressful
events using inadequate mechanisms, such as
using alcohol or drugs, crying, attempting
suicide, sleeping, trying to forget, and (as
evidenced by the label ascribed to them) running
away from home. Conversely, nonrunaways,
primarily because they try to resolve stressful
issues without opting to escape from them, tend
to use more positive coping mechanisms, such as
thinking, talking to friends or family members,
and writing (Roberts, 1982). Unger and her
colleagues (1998) found that homeless youths
who used emotion-focused coping strategies (as
opposed to problem-focused coping strategies)
experienced depression, alcohol or drug dependency, and poor health conditions.
In sum, only a handful of studies have focused on stressors and coping strategies among
runaway/homeless youths. Some studies compared runaway/homeless and nonrunaway/nonhomeless populations to compare stressors and
coping patterns used by each group and found
that the patterns of stressors and coping differed
between these populations (Huang & Menke,
2001; Menke, 2000; Roberts, 1982). Other
researchers have applied stress and coping
models to a homeless youth population (Dalton
& Pakenham, 2002) by using criteria and factors
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CHUN AND SPRINGER
such as irrational beliefs and constructive
management strategies to test their relationship
to stressors and coping (Denoff, 1991; Hill, 1992;
Horowitz, Boardman, & Redlener, 1994). Some
studies on stress and coping in runaway/homeless youths are qualitative (cf. Huang & Menke,
2001; Landow & Glenwick, 1999; Menke, 2000;
Roberts, 1982), whereas others are based on
quantitative methods (cf. Dalton & Pakenham,
2002; Denoff, 1991; Unger et al., 1998).
Concept mapping may help address some of
the limitations in the knowledge base, as it is
a useful way to organize qualitative data with
quantitative techniques (Johnsen et al., 2000).
Through concept mapping, runaway youths’
concepts of stressors and coping can be
captured using their own language.
Methodology
The Concept Mapping Method
Trochim (1989) provided the following definition of concept mapping: ‘‘a pictorial representation of the group’s thinking which displays
all of the ideas of the group relative to the topic
at hand, shows how these ideas are related to
each other, and optionally, shows which ideas
are more relevant, important, or appropriate’’
(p. 2). In concept mapping, data are generated
from participants’ own words, and maps are
interpreted regarding the meaning of phenomenon in the actual context. Therefore, concept
mapping is a useful method to organize and
interpret qualitative data with quantitative
techniques, resulting in a pictorial representation (Johnsen et al., 2000).
The concept-mapping process follows several
phases, including brainstorming, sorting/rating
statements, and interpreting the results (Galvin,
1989). A brainstorming session generates statements or phrases in response to a focus statement.
After generating statements, participants group
60
them into similar piles and rate each item’s
importance (Shern, Trochim, & LaComb, 1995).
All study data were analyzed using the
Concept Systems software. This software generates the statistical calculation needed to
generate maps and produce pattern matching.
The software implements calculations such as
data aggregation, multidimensional scaling,
cluster analysis, bridging analysis, and sort
pile label analysis (Michalski & Cousins, 2000).
Among these methods, multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis are the major statistical
processes (Davison, 1983; Kruskal & Wish,
1978). Pattern matching is a feature included in
concept mapping. The pattern-matching technique is a simple and appropriate way to compare group differences (Michalski & Cousins,
2000). It is used to identify the fit between
theory and observations/data—that is, ‘‘the
pattern matching of the conceptual and operational domains’’ (Trochim, 1985, p. 575).
The present study used concept mapping to
define concepts of stressors and coping strategies and to detect a domain of stressors and
coping based on two sets of statements
generated by runaway youths. The following
definitions for stressors and coping strategies
were used for the purposes of this study:
Stressors: A runaway youth’s cognition of
life events that exceed his or her resources
and threaten his or her well-being. A stressor
was measured in this study by a runaway
youth’s responses to the statement, Things
that stress me out are ______________.
Coping strategies: A runaway youth’s purposeful emotional and behavioral reactions
to events that are perceived by the youth to
exceed his or her resources and threaten his
or her well-being. A coping strategy was
measured by a runaway youth’s responses to
the statement, The way I deal with stress is to
_____________.
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Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway Youths
Sampling
There are numerous definitions of runaway
youths. According to the Federal Department of
Health and Human Services, a runaway is
a youth who ‘‘is away from home without the
permission of his or her parent(s) or legal
guardian . . . [or] . . . is absent from his or her
home or place of legal residence at least
overnight without permission’’ (General Accounting Office, 1989, p. 13). This study was
limited to runaway youths who were between
the ages of 13 and 18 years, had left their homes
without permission for more than 24 hours, and
currently lived in a runaway shelter.
Trochim (1989) recommended between 10 and
20 people for a suitable sample size in the concept
mapping system. In this study, data were
collected using a nonprobability, purposive
sample of 53 runaway male and female youths
living in a runaway shelter in Austin, Texas. To
be included in this study, participants had to
meet the aforementioned criteria. Data collection
was completed between September 2003 and
January 2004. Researchers obtained approval for
this study through the Institutional Review
Board of The University of Texas at Austin.
Results
Participant Characteristics
The total sample consisted of 53 participants
from a runaway shelter in Austin, Texas.
Participants ranged in age from 13 to 18 years,
with a mean age of 16.47 and a standard
deviation of 1.37; the age distribution was
skewed in the negative direction.
The participants were evenly distributed by
gender, with 27 females (50.9%) and 26 males
(49.1%). Among all, 12 participants (22.6%)
identified themselves as African American; 15
(28.3%) as White, non-Hispanic; 13 (24.5%) as
Hispanic; 4 (7.5%) as American Indian; and 9
(17%) fell into the ‘‘other’’ category. There were
no Asians in the sample. In sum, 44 participants
(96.2%) identified themselves as straight or
heterosexual; 4 (7.5%) as gay or lesbian; and 2
(5.7%) as bisexual. With regard to marital status
of parents, 4 (7.5%) were married; 13 (24.5%)
were separated; 12 (22.6%) were divorced; and
18 (34%) fell into the ‘‘other’’ category.
Approximately 1 in 3 participants (n ¼ 18,
34%) indicated that they had left or run away
from home for the first time. The participants
had a mean runaway count of 7.21 times with
a standard deviation of 11.54. The participants’
runaway count ranged from 1 to 58 times; the
count distribution was very much skewed in the
positive direction. According to the typology
criteria by Pennbridge and colleagues (1990),
situational runaways are defined as having left
home once or twice, and chronic runaways are
identified as having left home three or more
times. Based on their classification, approximately half of the youths in this study (n ¼ 23,
46.9%) were situational runaways, and half (n ¼
26, 53.1%) were chronic runaways.
Nearly one quarter of participants (n ¼ 12,
22.6%) indicated the length of time that they
were away from home to be between 1 and 12
months. Seven participants (13.2%) had been
away from home between 1 and 3 years, and 3
participants (5.7%) had been away 4 to 6 years.
Eight youths (15.1%) had been out of their
homes for 7 to 9 years, whereas 6 (11.3%) were
gone less than 1 month. The remaining six
(11.3%) reported being out of their homes for 10
or more years.
With regard to the reason for leaving home,
youths chose multiple answers. One third (n ¼
17, 32.1%) stated that they had left home ‘‘to
seek excitement or adventure,’’ and 20 participants (37.7%) responded that they had left
home because their parents were emotionally,
physically, and/or sexually abusive. Ten participants (18.9%) mentioned that their parents
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
61
CHUN AND SPRINGER
did not approve of their drug and/or alcohol
use. Over one fifth of the participants (n ¼ 12,
22.6%) had left home due to financial difficulty
in the family; 15 (28.3%) were thrown out by
their parents; and a limited number (9.4%)
indicated death of their parents as their reason
for leaving home. In addition, some youths
indicated other reasons, such as pregnancy, to
be with a boy- or girlfriend, imprisonment of
their parents, and discord with their parents.
Nearly half of the participants (n ¼ 24,
45.3%) had spent most of their time in a shelter
in the past month. Five (9.4%) were with
parents, and four (7.5%) were with relatives.
Fifteen (28.3%) fell into the ‘‘other’’ category,
and they commonly mentioned a friend’s house
or their own apartment.
Three-fifths (60.4%) of the youths reported
being involved in the juvenile justice system
(i.e., being picked up by police, being arrested,
being taken to the juvenile assessment center,
or going to court). Half of those (50.9%)
reported being suspended or expelled from
school in the past year.
Concept Mapping Findings
Concept Mapping
Idea
Generation
Findings. Participants generated approximately twice the required minimum of 30–40
statements to ensure a valid concept mapping
analysis. As mentioned, participants brainstormed concepts in response to the following
two focus statements.
1. Things that stress me out are
_______________________________.
2. The way I deal with stress is
to______________________________.
Participants brainstormed 74 statements about
stressors and 66 statements about coping strategies. Of the 140 statements originally generated,
a total of 51 unique and clear statements were
identified during the data reduction process.
62
Concept-Mapping Structuring, Representation, and Interpretation of Ideas: Cluster
Map Generation. Conceptual maps were produced for stressors and coping strategies that
reflected how runaway youths perceived the
relationship among the data components. Multidimensional scaling then generated two concept maps, one graphically representing
relationships among the stress statements and
the other similarly representing relationships
among the coping statements. Through the
multidimensional scaling solution, a hierarchical cluster analysis grouped each set of statements into conceptual domains (i.e., map
clusters) based on similarity of ideas.
Stressor Map. While several types of maps
can be generated from the Concept Systems
software, cluster-rating maps were chosen due
to their effectiveness in presenting the results.
The six-cluster stress-map solution produced
by participant sorts and subsequent analysis is
presented in Figure 1. This model provided the
maximum number of interpretable conceptual
elements, or clusters, without losing distinctions between groups of statements. More
important, it generated a final goodness-of-fit
value of .30, after 17 iterations, which falls
within the recommended reliability range of .15
to .35 for map interpretation (Trochim, 1993).
The conceptual domains in the stress map are
as follows: disrespect, living stability, anxiety,
school, friends, and family (see Table 1). Each
point on the map represents a statement, and
the map represents the relationships between
each individual statement and other statements.
The complete list of numbered statements
within each cluster of the stress map is
presented in Table 1. For example, the point
labeled 15 on the disrespect cluster represents
the statement ‘‘peer pressure.’’ The relationship
is estimated by how far apart and how close
together the points are on the map. That is,
points placed close together indicate that they
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway Youths
Disrespect
18 20
14
5
13
10
11
9
47
37
12
44
6
22
34
36
1
2
30
33
41
21
27
19
25
Family
28
26
24
4
40
Anxiety
29
51
49
7
39 23
42
School
50
45
48
16
Friends
Living Stability
15
31
35
17
3
8
46
32
43
38
FIGURE 1
Stressor Cluster Rating Map (stress value ¼ .30).
had similar meaning and were sorted in the
same category by participants. Points far apart
from each other are perceived to be less similar
and are less frequently sorted together. For
example, in the disrespect cluster, statements
14 and 20 are perceived as more similar in
meaning than statements 14 and 37.
The bridging value indicates the degree of
consistency or similarity in the sorting data,
and it ranges from 0 to 1. A low bridging value
is produced between items that are sorted
closely on the map (Concept Systems, 2001).
Low bridging values assigned to statements and
clusters reflect that the overall map was built
fairly well. It means that statements or clusters
were more often sorted together. With the
exception of the friends cluster (bridging value
of .79), it appears that the stressor cluster map
in this study was well designed. The remaining
bridging values were as follows: disrespect
(0.18), living stability (0.27), school (0.32),
anxiety (0.49), and family (0.49).
Coping Strategies Map. The five-cluster
coping-strategy map solution produced by
participant sorts and subsequent analysis is
presented in Figure 2. This model generated
a final goodness-of-fit value of .27, after 17
iterations, falling within the recommended re-
liability range of .10 to .35 for map interpretation
(Trochim, 1993). The conceptual domains in the
coping strategy map are as follows: relaxation,
social support, going out, hobbies/interests, and
escaping (see Table 2). With the exception of the
social support cluster (bridging value of .86), the
coping strategies cluster map was well designed.
The remaining bridging values were as follows:
going out (0.11), hobbies/interests (0.29), escaping (0.41), and relaxation (0.42).
Concept-Mapping Structuring, Representation, and Interpretation of Ideas: Rating
and Pattern Match Comparisons. One important type of analysis produced by the Concept
Systems software is pattern matching. Average
cluster ratings, generated from individual participant ratings on each of the two rating scales,
were used to generate pattern match comparisons
between participant groups. A Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) resulted for each pattern
match, allowing one to determine the level of
consistency or agreement between two sets of
averages among participant groups. This was
done for both stress and coping strategies.
Stressor. A greater level of disagreement was
observed between White, non-Hispanic versus
non-White youths (r ¼ .64). Non-White youths
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
63
CHUN AND SPRINGER
TABLE 1. Statements by Stressor Clusters With Average Ratings
Item #
Statement
Cluster 1:
Disrespect
2
5
6
10
11
12
13
14
15
17
18
20
22
30
34
37
44
47
Not being understood
People telling me what to do
Other people talking about me when I am not present
Getting into fights
People talking about my parents badly
People who do things that annoy me
People telling me ‘‘no’’
People being rude to me for no particular reason
Peer pressure
People taking my stuff
People who show off
When people want to argue
People who treat me like a child
Being asked about my family
Being cursed at
Rushing to do things
Being accused for things I haven’t done
Being made fun of
3.70
3.89
3.68
3.04
3.06
3.68
3.40
3.81
2.83
3.85
3.34
3.34
3.77
3.21
3.00
3.49
3.98
2.89
Average rating
3.44
Cluster 2:
Living stability
1
3
7
8
23
27
29
32
39
42
45
46
48
51
When I have to be watched 24/7
Having no stability
No money
Moving all the time
When I cannot sleep late
Not being able to smoke a cigarette in a shelter
Being dirty
Having a dirty room
Not having clothes
The way kids here are scared of me
Noise
Not having a place I can call my own
People who don’t share
Not getting my way
3.77
3.45
3.85
3.40
3.38
2.79
3.04
3.43
3.68
2.15
3.40
3.91
2.89
3.11
Average rating
3.28
Cluster 3:
Anxiety
4
26
28
38
40
43
49
Heath problems
Not being good at things
Not being with family
Having many things to worry about all the time
Death of loved ones
The way my life is going
Playing too much
2.66
3.02
3.21
3.91
3.62
4.02
2.51
Average rating
3.28
64
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Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway Youths
TABLE 1. continued.
Item #
Statement
Cluster 4:
School
16
21
36
School life
Being behind in school
Homework
3.11
3.23
2.79
Average rating
3.04
Cluster 5:
Friends
9
31
33
35
50
Not being with my own friends
Friends at school
Fear of rejection
Friends at shelter
Opposite sex
3.53
2.83
3.00
2.49
2.92
Average rating
2.92
Cluster 6:
Family
19
24
25
41
Siblings
Grandparents
Fear of getting pregnant/having a baby
Parents
Average rating
2.53
2.49
2.23
2.85
2.53
Coping Strategies. Greater levels of disagreement were observed on the basis of parental
marital status (married vs. separated/divorced/
others, r ¼ .26), residence in the past month
(with parents vs. in a shelter, r ¼ .35), sexual
experienced higher levels of stress from problems related to school, friends, and disrespect
than did White, non-Hispanic youths; however,
White, non-Hispanic youths reported higher
levels of stress due to anxiety and family.
Escaping
43
5
42
45
Social Support
31
3
2
34
23
50
30
10
9
6
44
21 40
48
33
38
12
Relaxation
22
32
51
26
11
36
17
49
20
28
25
47
41 19 24
Hobbies/Interests
29 37
16
46
15
39
13
18 14 27
4
1
35
8
7
Going Out
FIGURE 2
Coping Strategies Cluster Rating Map (stress value ¼ .27).
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CHUN AND SPRINGER
TABLE 2. Statements by Coping Strategies Clusters With Average Ratings
Item #
Statement
Cluster 1:
Relaxation
2
3
6
9
10
23
34
50
51
Taking a hot bath
Smelling incense
Quietly thinking
Being by myself
Crying
Taking a walk
Brushing teeth
Sleeping
Eating
3.80
2.91
3.18
3.61
2.43
3.55
3.52
3.39
3.43
Average rating
3.31
Cluster 2:
Social support
36
42
44
45
Talking
Talking
Talking
Talking
to
to
to
to
friends
shelter staff
people with the same problem
family
Average rating
3.73
2.80
3.07
3.18
3.19
Cluster 3:
Going out
1
4
7
8
13
14
18
26
27
35
37
39
Going outside
Having sex
Shopping
Going to a party
Dining out
Going to concerts
Dating
Hanging out with friends
Riding around
Going to friends’ houses
Playing outside
Dancing
3.64
2.59
2.70
3.07
2.57
2.64
2.91
3.43
3.48
3.41
3.16
2.64
Average rating
3.02
Cluster 4:
Hobbies/interests
11
15
16
17
19
20
24
25
28
29
32
41
46
Singing
Playing video games
Listening to music
Writing journals in my diary
Playing sports (basketball, football, etc.)
Reading
Cooking
Painting/drawing
Trying to learn something new
Watching television
Getting hair cut
Exercise (running, swimming, jumping jacks, yoga, etc.)
Going to movies
66
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
2.75
2.84
4.20
2.75
2.73
3.00
2.82
2.71
3.36
3.23
2.34
3.27
3.30
Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway Youths
TABLE 2. continued.
Item #
Statement
Cluster 4:
47
49
Relaxation
Jumping around
Washing dishes
2.52
2.05
Average rating
2.92
Cluster 5:
Escaping
5
12
21
22
30
31
33
38
40
43
48
Using drugs
Trying to forget about the stressful event
Screaming
Running away
Drinking alcohol
Smoking
Hitting the wall
Throwing things
Picking fights
Ignoring my true feelings
Hitting people
Average rating
orientation (heterosexual vs. gay/lesbian/
bisexual, r ¼ .61), and ethnicity (White, nonHispanic vs. non-White, r ¼ .73). Adolescents
who had separated or divorced parents used
social support and going out more often than
their counterparts who had married parents;
runaways who had married parents reported
using escaping more frequently as their coping
strategy. Youths who lived in shelters in the
past month reported using relaxation, hobbies/
interests, and going out to cope with stress
more so than those who lived with their
parents. Youths who lived with their parents
frequently used social support and escaping.
Heterosexual runaways used social support
and going out to deal with their stress much
more frequently than gay/lesbian or bisexual
youths; however, other coping strategies were
similarly used in both groups. Non-White
youths reported greater frequency of using
coping methods of social support and going out,
whereas White youths relied on relaxation and
hobbies/interests a bit more often.
2.57
3.32
2.18
2.16
2.34
2.89
2.43
2.75
2.14
2.66
2.27
2.47
Discussion
Limitations
Concept mapping is an innovative method for
understanding the stressors and the coping
strategies of runaway adolescents. Nevertheless, several limitations warrant mention. Since
the study was conducted with a nonprobability,
purposive sample of 53 participants, it is not
possible to determine the extent to which these
runaway youths in Austin, Texas, are similar to
or different from runaways in other regions.
Therefore, the findings may not be generalizable
to the total population of runaway adolescents
living in shelters. The findings are a product of
a relatively small number of participants and
thus may not accurately reflect the perspectives
of the broader runaway population.
A larger overall sample of the population may
have resulted in a broader range of perspectives
as well as more accurate demographic group
comparisons. There may also be a potential
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
67
CHUN AND SPRINGER
selection bias because this study included only
youths who voluntarily agreed to participate.
Participants’ literacy levels affected their
capabilities to engage in the sorting and rating
stages of concept mapping. In this study, staff
members in the shelter screened adolescents for
their literacy levels by asking youths whether
they could read English. However, several
youths generated statements or names of
clusters on answer sheets that did not make
sense, and some spelled many of the words
incorrectly. In such cases, answer sheets indicated that some youths were not sufficiently
able to participate in the study. These youths
were excluded from the sample. Only youths
who had the ability to read, sort cards, and fill
out rating sheets participated in this study. In
addition, the researcher and staff members
observed participants and made inquiries to
ascertain difficulties. The impact of excluding
youths with low literacy on study results
cannot be known for certain, but it does
introduce the possibility of sampling bias.
Implications for Practice and Research
Two primary research questions were explored
in this study:
1. What are the stressors experienced by
runaway youths?
2. What are the coping strategies used by
runaway youths?
Findings from the conceptual maps were used
to examine these research questions.
Stress. Concept mapping revealed six major
sources of stress for these youths (in descending
order): disrespect, living stability, anxiety,
school, friends, and family. These stressors
were similar to those reported in previous
studies (Heusel, 1995; Huang & Menke, 2001;
68
Wagner & Menke, 1993) for homeless youths as
a group, particularly those with high levels of
stress.
In this study, the most frequently reported
stressors were those in the disrespect category.
These stressors were related to people’s actions
or situations in which the youths felt disrespected, such as being made fun of, being
cursed at, or being ordered to do something.
Living situations in shelters or other unstable
situations that are very different from what the
peer groups might otherwise experience may
affect runaway youths’ feelings of disrespect
from others. In a study with children living in
poverty, Toomey and Christie (1990) found that
children identified loss of possessions—such as
special types of clothes, computer games, and
other trendy items—as a stressor that hindered
peer acceptance. From a developmental perspective, adolescents make social comparisons
by weighing their looks, behaviors, and skills
against those of their peers (Berk, 2001). Thus,
these factors can influence feelings of discrimination and embarrassment that lead to loss of
self-esteem (Menke, 2000). Such views may
provide a better understanding of why disrespect has been identified as the leading cause of
stress among runaway youths in this study.
Adolescence is a developmental period in
which one’s self-esteem or self-concept is built
(Steinberg, 1990). Runaway youths tend to
have lower self-esteem when compared with
that of adolescents who reside at home (Davey,
1998; Gavazzi & Blumenkrantz, 1991; Maxwell,
1992). Frequent changes in schools, difficulties
in making new friends in settings where cliques
have already been formed, lack of material
possession (e.g., wearing old clothes), and lack
of personal space are some of the things that
might make them feel bad about themselves
(Heusel, 1995; Huang, 2001). A second key
developmental task of adolescence is to develop
a sense of autonomy (Berk, 2001). It is plausible
that runaway youths might be sensitive to
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway Youths
stressors related to feelings of disrespect from
other people due to low self-esteem during
a developmental period in which they are
building their identities and trying to assert
themselves.
Living stability stressors were the second
most frequently reported category of stressors.
This study supports findings from previous
studies that conclude that an unstable life in
shelters or on the streets is stressful for runway
or homeless children (Bassuk & Weinreb, 1994;
Menke, 2000; Wagner & Menke, 1993). A
stressful event for youths is frequent moving
because most everything familiar to them is lost
or changed. Shelter life for the youths in this
study was also stressful with regard to rules,
lack of privacy, noise, a dirty environment, and
conflict with other shelter residents, all of
which have also been reported by other
researchers (Bassuk & Weinreb, 1994; Heusel,
1995; Huang & Menke, 2001; Menke, 2000). The
runaway youths in this study shared facilities
with other youths, and they lacked personal
space and privacy. The experience of no
personal space and privacy may cause sadness
and worries for runaway or homeless adolescents (Baumann, 1994). Within crowded shelters, youths might have conflicts over issues
such as possession of certain items, with tension
easily building up between residents. To reside
at the shelter, the youths were expected to
follow rules regarding curfews, sexual behaviors among residents, substance use, and
violence. Runaway youths who have left home
to find their own way or establish their sense of
independence might be inclined to perceive
shelter rules as another stressor.
Runaway adolescents in the study also
frequently mentioned stressors related to anxiety. Examples of theses stressors included
being afraid of their future, worrying about
daily life, having health problems, having bad
things happening to them, and dealing with the
death of loved ones, all of which have been
reported in previous studies (Heusel, 1995;
Huang & Menke, 2001; Menke, 2000; Unger et
al., 1998). These stressors were common in
school-age children (Berk, 2001). Anxieties
surrounding an insecure self-identity and
conflict with close relationships have been
identified as stressors causing children to be
nervous, worried, or depressed (Lewis, Siegel,
& Lewis, 1984). School-age children also commonly have anxieties about their physical
health and their parents’ health (Berk, 2001).
To the extent that professionals are aware of
the stressors among the runaway youths with
whom they work, they can help runaways
enhance their use of positive coping skills to
manage the stress. Accordingly, crisis assessment needs to thoroughly explore the stressors
experienced by runaway youths. The findings
from this study indicate that runaway youths
had multiple sources of stress, such as an
unstable life, anxiety, disrespect, family, school,
and friends. Interventions need to be implemented that are grounded in a broader ecological
perspective, which considers stress as a personal–environmental transaction between the
individual and the multilevels of social context
(Germain & Gitterman, 1980; Toro, Thickett,
Wall, & Salem, 1991). Through an ecological
perspective, problems need to be approached
from various systems—family, school, or shelter
levels (Davey & Neff, 2001). Rather than focus
exclusively on the youths, interventions should
address social–environmental factors, including
parents, other shelter youths, and friends in
school (Davey & Neff, 2001).
It is important to tailor interventions to
account for differences by ethnicity, gender, or
age. To mitigate stressors, an interdisciplinary
approach needs to be pursued, including stress
or anger management programs, family counseling, education, parent education, health care
services, and a permanent living place for the
youths (Wagner & Menke, 1993). Interventions
should deal specifically with key stressors. For
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
69
CHUN AND SPRINGER
example, runaway youths in this study felt the
highest level of stress when faced with disrespectful relationships or situations. As such,
the staff of shelters or other youth agencies must
be grounded in a relationship of mutual respect
with youths. Improving peer relationships may
also decrease feelings of disrespect by peers,
which in turn should reduce stress levels. Group
interventions for peer relationships can be
implemented in shelters or schools to alleviate
such stressors. At the same time, programs
need to be developed that focus on improving
the quality of social relationships and levels
of self-esteem in runaway adolescents (Saade &
Winkelman, 2002).
Coping Strategies. Concept mapping also
revealed five major coping strategies among the
population (in descending order): relaxation,
social support, going out, hobbies/interests,
and escaping. The majority of runaway youths
used behavioral types of coping. This is
congruent with the findings from other research regarding homeless children (Menke,
2000; Percy, 1995). Although adolescents can
exercise logic around concrete ideas, they may
still have limited capability in using cognitive
tools for more abstract concepts (Huang &
Menke, 2001). Thus, in general, adolescents
rarely use cognitive types of coping strategies.
This study indicates that youths who had
lived with their parents in the past month
reported using more positive coping strategies
than their counterparts who had been in
a shelter, with relatives, or with friends.
According to social learning theory (Bandura,
1977), adolescents learn various behaviors by
modeling. In particular, adolescents tend to
learn how to appraise stressful events or how to
deal with stress through the modeling of their
parents (Kliewer & Lewis, 1995). Since runaway
youths do not live with their parents, or since
their parents are not capable of being good role
models, many runaways may miss chances to
70
learn how to use positive coping strategies to
deal with stressful events.
Runaway youths often live from one crisis to
the next. Roberts (2000) states that ‘‘the person
in crisis is viewed as resourceful, resilient . . .
and having untapped resources or latent inner
coping skills from which to draw upon. . . .
Integrating strengths and solution-focused
approaches involves jogging clients’ memories
so they recall the last time everything seemed to
be going well’’ (p. 19). When runaway youths
come off the streets and into shelters, it is
critical to assess their past coping strategies
thoroughly and to build on their strengths and
their positive coping skills.
Runaways in this study mostly used relaxation, social support, going out, hobbies/
interests, and escaping as their coping strategies. These strategies, except social support,
can be classified as emotion-focused coping by
employing Lazarus and Folkman’s model
(1984). As mentioned, the emotion-focused
coping strategies include escape/avoidance,
distancing, distraction, and seeking emotional
support. Going out and hobbies/interests can
be considered distractions, as such activities
distract the youths from thinking about the
stressors encountered. The findings of Menke’s
study (2000) are congruent with the results
of the current study with runaway youths
(Huang & Menke, 2001; Wagner & Menke,
1993). The findings in both studies suggest that
runaway adolescents use coping strategies that
are largely limited to emotional coping.
Lazarus (1993) has suggested that the utilization of both emotion- and problem-focused
coping can reduce distress effectively. Accordingly, based on the findings from this study,
interventions should focus on helping runaway
youths enhance their ability to use problemfocused coping strategies. Previous research has
indicated that coping strategies can be enhanced
through brief educational interventions (Rice,
Herman, & Petersen, 1993; Short et al., 1995).
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention / 5:1 February 2005
Stress and Coping Strategies in Runaway Youths
Runaway shelters should consider developing
and providing access to support services to help
runaway adolescents cope successfully with
stressors related to shelter or street life, thereby
preventing more serious problems, such as
suicide, depression, substance use, or violence
(Unger et al., 1998). These services need to
emphasize the development of problem-solving
skills to cope with stress. Problem-focused
coping is usually more effective than emotionfocused coping at generating positive mental
health outcomes during stressful events
(DeGenova, Patton, Jurich, & McDermid, 2001;
Penley, Tomaka, & Wiebe, 2002). Problem-focused
coping strategies can be developed through
participation in programs such as problemsolving skills training, self-control classes, and
self-empowerment classes (Forman, 1993). In
addition, learning what social support is available and how to access these support services,
along with strengthening social support networks, will result in better coping skills. Such
coping strategies may encourage runaway
youths to find available resources and ultimately help them to move into more stable
living situations (Unger et al., 1998).
Runaway youths comprise various groups
with different backgrounds. This study indicated that runaway youths showed different
stress and coping patterns by ethnicity, sexual
orientation, residency in the past month, and
marital status of their parents. Professionals
who work with runaway adolescents should be
aware of these characteristics for each demographic group and should provide services that
address group differences (Rotheram-Borus,
1993). For example, since non-White youths
experienced higher levels of stress associated
with school and friends than did White, nonHispanic youths, programs that enable nonWhite runaways to develop peer relations and
academic skills are particularly recommended.
The number of gay, lesbian, or bisexual
runaway youths in this study was small, but
they used social support to deal with their stress
much less frequently than heterosexual runaways. Thus, programs that improve the ability
to seek social support may need to be provided
for gay, lesbian, or bisexual runaways.
Suggestions for Future Research. This
study informs the direction of future research
efforts to examine stress and coping in runaway
youths in several areas. The relationships
between stressors and coping strategies should
be analyzed with consideration of moderating
factors, such as age, gender, and ethnicity.
Comparison between runaway youths and
household youths is also suggested for future
research. The two groups may differ in terms of
their types of stressors and coping strategies.
Prospective longitudinal studies will also help
us understand how stress and coping trajectories evolve over time. Finally, the results of this
study suggest that future studies on runaway
adolescents should take into account demographic group differences such as gender,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, residential status,
and/or frequency of running away.
Note
Jongserl Chun, PhD, is an adjunct professor at
The University of Texas at Austin, School of
Social Work. David W. Springer, PhD, LCSW,
is an associate dean and associate professor at
The University of Texas at Austin, School of
Social Work.
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