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RUNAWAY CHILDREN IN NORTH AMERICA In North America , runaway children or youth are a chronic and serious social problem. It is estimated that each year there are between 1.3 and 1.5 million runaway/homeless children/youth in the United States (Coco & Courtney, 1998; Cauce et al., 1994). Current studies suggest that the primary cause of youth homelessness is family dysfunction in the form of parental neglect, physical or sexual abuse, family substance abuse, and family violence (Smollar, 1999; Robertson & Toro, 1998). Family conflict can also be caused by sudden and/or drastic changes in the family composition (i.e. a divorce, re-marriage, death of a parent), parental substance abuse, youth's substance abuse, and youth's sexual activity. A related term used for runaways is "thrownaway youth". Normally a thrownaway youth or child is someone who has been "locked out" or forced to leave home by its parents or caregivers. However, the distinction between runaways and thrownaways is not clear as in many cases it depends on who provides the information: when the parents are asked they say the youth ran away, while the youth would say he or she were forced to leave, either directly or by circumstances. In most cases, youth runaway because the situation at home is insurmountable, and not because they are looking for excitement or fun out of home. "The first time I ran away, I was 2 years old. My mother always spoke of this as an amusing story. She said that I gave a false name to some elderly people. And while I never found this story amusing, I was always intrigued as to why I or any 2 year old child would run away. It was only after a very disturbing reoccurring dream that I uncovered the answer. When I was 18 months old my mother tried to suffocate me with a pillow. And while my young mind couldn't wrap itself around the severity of her act, my instincts to survive kicked in. Only then did it make sense that I had given a false name. That also laid the foundation for my relationship with my mother, or the non-existence of it, because I never felt 'safe' when I was alone in her company." - The Firstborn Daughter of Donna Rae Heller Zimmer Joseph RUNAWAY CHILDREN IN THE UNITED KINGDOM This problem also exists in the United Kingdom with runaway youths congregating in London . SEE ALSO
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