ERIC Number: EJ1486039
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Nov
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0044-118X
EISSN: EISSN-1552-8499
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Analysis of Police Intake Data of First-Time and Repeat Runaway Youth
Durant Frantzen1; Jazmine Garcia2; Michelle Willingham1; Kirsten Carpenter1
Youth & Society, v57 n8 p1616-1633 2025
To date, few studies have assessed the prevalence of mental health conditions among runaway youth who have been located by law enforcement. Given that repeat runaway cases disproportionately consume more investigative resources from law enforcement agencies, it is important to ascertain risk factors of this population. Using a sample of one-time and repeat runaway youth from one large police agency in Texas, this study investigated differences in the mental health needs of youth reported as runaways to the police. Results from the logistic regression model showed that repeat runaway youth were more likely to be older, female, and have multiple mental health diagnoses compared to one-time runaways. No differences were found in the length of time a youth was reported as missing prior to being located by police. These results show that police encounter a large proportion of runaway youth with complex mental health needs.
Descriptors: Adolescents, Youth, Runaways, Mental Health, Incidence, Police Community Relationship, At Risk Persons, Risk Management, Youth Problems
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Texas A&M-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA; 2Our Lady of The Lake University, San Antonio, TX, USA

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