The families of runaway and homeless youth have been characterized as
having high levels of parent-child conflict and distress. This study e
xplored homeless youths' perceptions of their parents' child-rearing p
ractices. Youth (N = 409) were recruited from street and service sites
using a stratified probability sampling design. Factor analysis condu
cted with 23 parenting descriptors revealed four distinct parenting st
yles: Supportive/Emotionally Available; Intrusive/Unavailable; Detache
d; and Problems With Drugs/Law. The implications of these findings and
future research and service provision needs are discussed.