Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Child Abuse, Street Victimization, And Substance Use Among Homeless Young Adults, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research documents high rates of child abuse, street victimization, and substance use among homeless youth, few studies have investigated these three constructs simultaneously, and thus little is known about how various forms of victimization are uniquely associated with substance use among this population. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship among child sexual and physical abuse, street victimization, and partner violence with substance use among 172 homeless young adults. Path analysis results revealed that males and those who reported parental drug problems were significantly more likely to have higher rates of substance use. Those who …

Characteristics Of Mothers Caring For Children During Episodes Of Homelessness, Melissa L. Welch-Lazoritz, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study provides a description of the physical, psychological, and substance use problems of adult homeless women who are and are not caring for children. We also examined differences in the characteristics of these two groups of women. Interviews were conducted with 148 homeless women from three mid-sized U.S. cities, 24.3% of whom were caring for at least one child. Our results showed that women caring for children were more likely to be sheltered and have health insurance. Homeless women caring for children and solitary homeless women were generally similar in terms of substance abuse problems. However, rates of Borderline …

Patterns Of Substance Use Initiation Among Indigenous Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background—The data for this study come from an eight-wave panel study of Indigenous (Canadian First Nations and American Indian) adolescents from three U.S. reservations and four Canadian reserves.

Objectives—Our objective was to investigate variations in patterns of substance use initiation from early adolescence through early adulthood using data collected annually for 8 years.

Method—At baseline the sample included 675 Indigenous adolescents (M age = 11.10, SD = .83; 50.3% girls). First, we calculated cumulative rates of substance use initiation by age. We then examined whether the cumulative initiation rates were moderated by gender using logistic regression …