Family process and structure, attachment style, and emotional intelligence in runaway girls

Abstract

Introduction: The phenomenon of running away from home is taken into account as one of the highly sensitive and complicated issues in the field of social harms. According to a report released by the WHO, the annual rate of running away from home is more than 2.3 million. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to compare family structure and process, attachment style, and emotional intelligence among runaway and normal girls. Methods: In this study, all runaway girls covered by social welfare organization of Iran in Bandar Abbas city were selected by using the convenience sampling method 40 individuals were selected including 20 runaway girls and 20 normal girls who were matched in terms of demographic characteristics. Two groups were compared with t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient was used for evaluating relationship between variables. Results: According to the findings, there was a statistically significant difference between family structure, family process, attachment style, and emotional intelligence in normal and runaway girls (P<0.001). Moreover, there was a significant relationship between family structure and emotional intelligence. Conclusion: Family structure and process, attachment style, and emotional intelligence can affect the phenomenon of running away.