Experiences of Family Conflict in Shelter-Residing Runaway Youth: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Family conflict is the most significant factor that causes adolescents to run away from home. This study explored the experiences of family conflict from the perspective of Korean runaway youth. We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study using in-depth interviews with nine female runaway youth. Audio-recorded interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the Colaizzi method. We found that the participants had experienced complex family conflicts since early childhood, such as parental conflict and mental health issues, abuse, neglect, lack of parental understanding, and poverty. Participants had negative emotions and coping problems regarding family conflict(s), before leaving home. After running away, they experienced ambivalent feelings, and felt both hatred and compassion towards their parents. Their experiences influenced their thoughts regarding future family relationships. Understanding the viewpoint of runaway youth in terms of family conflict can assist in the development of interventions designed for such youth.

Exploring mental health services for youth experiencing homelessness in East Asia Pacific regions: A systematic scoping review.

“…[1,3] The most commonly used term to refer to YEH in academic literature and policymakers in EAP regions (e.g., China and Indonesia) is 'street children', defining those under age 18 years who live or work in public areas with little or no parental supervision. [25,26] 'Runaway youths' is another term used mainly in Korean literature, [27,28] along with 'street sleeping', 'rough sleeping' and 'pavement dwelling' to describe primary homelessness. [29,30] CYP experiencing secondary homelessness, defined by their lack of stable long-term housing, frequent between temporary accommodation such as shelters, orphanages, and refugee camps.…”

Affiliation With Delinquent Peers as a Mediator of the Relationships Between Family Conflict and School Bullying: A Short-Term Longitudinal Panel Study

“…Based on the following theories and research, we hypothesized that affiliation with delinquent peers at school is the potential psychosocial mediator of the association between family conflict and school bullying. For example, previous research has shown that adolescents who experience family conflict have more strained or alienated relationships with their parents (e.g., Fernandes-Alcantara, 2016; Noh & Kim, 2021; Roche & Barker, 2017), which increases their distrust in social relationships and decreases social skills and emotional functioning (Boutelle et al, 2009; Heinze et al, 2020; Van Rosmalen-Nooijens et al, 2017). Once they go to school to interact with their school peers, mainstream peers may dislike them or reject them because of their social deficits (Farmer et al, 2003; Gregson et al, 2017), increasing their chance to gravitate toward delinquent peers because they have few alternative peers to interact with (Lansford et al, 2014).…”