International note: Association between perceived resilience and health risk behaviours in homeless youth

Kwaku Oppong Asante, Anna Meyer-Weitz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Homeless youth are regarded as an extremely high risk group, susceptible to suicidal ideation substance abuse, and high rates of mental illness. While there exists a substantial body of knowledge regarding resilience of homeless youth, few studies has examined the relationship between perceived resilience and health risk behaviours. The present study describes the findings from a quantitative examination of street-related demographics, resilience, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, sexual risk behaviours and violent related behaviours among 227 homeless youth. The findings revealed that perceived resilience was negatively related to suicidal ideation, substance abuse and violence. Suicidal ideation was positively related to both substance abuse and violence, whilst violence and substance abuse were positively correlated. Multiple regressions showed that perceived resilience served as a protective factor for suicidal ideation and having multiple sexual lifetime partners, suggesting that youth with lower level of perceived resilience were more likely to engage in various health risks behaviours.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)36-39
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Adolescence
Volume39
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Health risk behaviours
  • Homeless youth
  • Resilience
  • Substance use
  • Suicide ideation

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