High prevalence of risky income generation among street-involved youth in a Canadian setting

Abstract

Background Previous research has found a range of barriers to mainstream employment among street-involved youth; however, less is known about the characteristics of street-involved youth who engage in risky income generation and the potential role of substance use in perpetuating engagement in these activities. Methods Data were collected between 2005 and 2012 from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS), which is a prospective cohort study of street-involved youth aged 14-26 in Vancouver, Canada. Generalized estimating equations were used to identify factors associated with risky quasi-legal and illegal income generation. Participants also reported their willingness to give up these sources of income if they were not using drugs. Results Among 1,008 participants, 826 (82%) reported engaging in risky income generation activities during the study period. Factors associated with risky income generation included: homelessness, binge drug use, injection drug use, crack use, crystal methamphetamine, overdose, interactions with police, and experiencing violence; regular employment was negatively associated with this outcome (all p<0.05). Among those who reported risky income generation, 440 (53%) were willing to give up these income sources if they were not using drugs. Conclusion Risky income generation was alarmingly prevalent in our sample, and associated with higher intensity drug use and other markers of vulnerability. The majority of participants (53%) reported willingness to give up their risky income sources if they were not using drugs; however, a substantial proportion of youth (47%) indicated that they would continue to engage in risk income generation regardless of their substance use suggesting that both substance use and economic insecurity likely perpetuate risky income generation among our sample. Findings highlight opportunities to reduce risky income generation by addressing problematic substance use through better access and engagement with evidence-based addiction treatment, and exploring, monitoring and evaluating innovative interventions to improve the overall economic security of street-involved youth.

Comparison of knowledge, attitude, and practices of animal and human brucellosis between nomadic pastoralists and non-pastoralists in Kenya

“…Our interactions with nomadic pastoralists including some with education and knowledge of risk factors of brucellosis revealed that they engage in risky practices because of culture. Social studies to understand why people engage in risky practices such as commercial sex workers engaging in unsafe sex, drug users, and youth engaging in texting while driving identified economic insecurity and culture as possible reasons [23][24][25][26]. The studies among drug users involved in risky income generation showed that almost half of them would continue the risky practices even if they went off drugs but remained economically insecure [23].…”

“…Social studies to understand why people engage in risky practices such as commercial sex workers engaging in unsafe sex, drug users, and youth engaging in texting while driving identified economic insecurity and culture as possible reasons [23][24][25][26]. The studies among drug users involved in risky income generation showed that almost half of them would continue the risky practices even if they went off drugs but remained economically insecure [23]. The primary occupation of nomadic pastoralists is to herd livestock and use these and their products including milk, meat, fur, hides, leather and manure for their livelihood and socio-economic advancement.…”

Socioeconomic factors associated with cessation of injection drug use among street-involved youth

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that street-involved youth are economically vulnerable and often resort to risky income generating activities including drug dealing (58%) and other prohibited and illegal street-based income sources (82%) [ 18 , 19 ]. Youth who engaged in risky income generating activities are known to be at increased risk for homelessness, high intensity drug use, encounter with police, and violence [ 18 ]. Engaging in drug dealing is also known to be associated with markers of economic and social vulnerability including homelessness, crack cocaine use, and police violence [ 19 ].…”

“…Our study contributes to the understanding that stable and safe income sources are critical for the health and well-being of street-involved youth [ 18 , 20 , 21 ]. In particular, our findings suggest that stable income support could facilitate cessation of injection drug use in this population.…”

Unsafe sexual behaviour associated with hazardous alcohol use among street-involved youth

“…Increased sexual risk behaviours have also been documented in youth who drink (Cooper, 2002; Parker, Harford, & Rosenstock, 1994), as well as populations who use injection drugs (Arasteh, DesJarlais, & Perlis, 2008; Cheng, Kerr, et al, 2016). In one study involving people who inject drugs, a dose–response relationship was observed between alcohol consumption and subsequent HIV infection (Howe, Cole, Ostrow, & Mehta Kirk, 2011).…”