PHYSICAL ABUSE IN CANADIAN RUNAWAY ADOLESCENTS

Recent studies with Canadian runaway youth have questioned the prevale nce of abuse experienced by teenaged runaways and the causal contribut ion of such abuse to runaway experiences (Kufeldt, Duriux, Nimmo, & Mc Donald, 1992; Kufeldt, & Perry, 1989). This is a descriptive investiga tion of the physical abuse experienced in a sample of 195 Canadian ado lescent runaways: the occurrence, nature and frequency of abuse, the a ge of onset and duration of abuse, the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator(s), and, who, if anyone, knew of the abuse. This investigation compared and contrasted the physical abuse experienced p rior and subsequent to runaway experiences. In this sample, 86% of the population (74% of the males and 90% of the females) reported at leas t one physically abusive experience. The data reported suggest that th is population of adolescents have been the victims of chronic, extreme abuse, experienced at a young age, often perpetrated by the biologica l parent (most often the mother), and was initiated prior to the first runaway episode. Female runaways were at greater risk than males for all types of abuse experience. Once youths left home, the physical abu se experiences decreased in frequency, but grew in severity, particula rly for males.