The Runaways

At the present stage of development, the varied literature on runaway children and adolescents provides little basis for firm conclusions. The apparent heterogeneity of runaways has yet to be fully realized in conceptual or research attempts, although efforts in that direction are beginning. There appears to be little utility or meaning in assigning runaway behavior solely to categories of delinquency or psychopathology. Such efforts have done little to clarify the meaning of running away or to define the important environmental factors and personality features involved in running away. To some extent their greatest impact has been on the restriction of runaway samples to particular delinquent or clinical groups. From the available literature it appears that runaways represent a varied group which cuts across delinquent, clinical and normal groups. A singular emphasis on any of these groups does not do justice to the multifaceted nature of the runaway problem