Neglect and Abuse Histories Among Homeless Young Adults

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a request for an NIMH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01). The candidate proposes to use a mentored support period of 5 years to study the effects of neglect and abuse histories on pathways to homelessness among currently homeless young adults (aged 18-25 years) and the consequences that such trajectories have on mental health outcomes. A sample of 200 young adult currently homeless men and women will be selected through four service agencies. The different pathways that lead to homelessness will be analyzed to determine if those who first experienced homelessness prior to age 18 years face different types of risk and resilience compared to those who didn't experience homelessness until after age 18 years. Although the majority of currently homeless young adults are expected to come from abusive and/or dysfunctional family backgrounds, the two different pathways to homelessness that are hypothesized are expected to differentially impact outcomes of depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress, problem behaviors, substance use, victimization, victimizing behaviors, and resilience. The K01 will support training, coursework, workshops, mentored relationships, secondary data analyses, empirical research, and other experiences that will lead to the career goal of becoming an independent researcher. The pilot study will also lay the groundwork for an NIMH R01, which will investigate longitudinally later adult outcomes of early adult homelessness. This proposed work will assess whether homeless people eventually become housed and how success in making this transition is associated with their mental health. In addition to this aim, other specific aims of the current project include using life history calendars to increase our understanding of life-events that lead to early adult homelessness; to identify histories of abuse and neglect; to identify experiences of victimization and victimizing behaviors on the street; to assess current depressive symptoms and other mental health outcomes; and to identify characteristics of resilience.