Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Youth Homelessness: Prevalence And Mental Health Correlates, Staci Perlman, Joe Willard, Janette E. Herbers, J. J. Cutuli, Karin M. Eyrich Garg

J. J. Cutuli

National data suggest the rate of youth homelessness has been increasing over the last several years. However, estimates of the true prevalence of youth homelessness vary greatly based on counting method and definitions of homelessness. The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate how the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) could be used to understand the prevalence of youth homelessness, characteristics of homeless experiences, and how these experiences relate to mental health problems among youth. Findings demonstrate the number of youth identified as homeless by the YRBS are considerably higher than the number identified by traditional counting methods. Furthermore, …