Misplaced kids: the relationship between foster care and homeless youth

This study considered variables that distinguished youth with foster care experience from youth with no foster care experience in a sample of 358 homeless and runaway adolescents interviewed in Seattle, Washington. Four emotional and behavioral outcomes were analyzed: Depressive symptoms, alcohol use, hallucinogenic drug use and addictive drug use. The analysis controlled for disadvantaged backgrounds, including child abuse in the family of origin, parent substance use and parental trouble with the law. There were no significant differences in depressive symptoms between foster care and non-foster care youth. Youth with a foster care history were significantly less likely to use alcohol and hallucinogenic drugs. There was a significant interaction effect between foster care experience and parent substance use for both addictive drugs and hallucinogens. In each instance, there is a positive association between parent substance use and the youth\u27s use of these substances for adolescents who have not been in foster care. However, these associations were not significant for youth with foster care experience. These results suggest that foster care has some protective effects in the area of substance use for homeless and runaway youth