Event history analysis teas used to study the correlates of running away fr
om home for the first time and spending time directly on the street (sleepi
ng outside or in an abandoned building) for the first tittle in a sample of
602 homeless and runaway adolescents from four Midwestern states. The resu
lts indicated that age, neglect by an adult caretaker, and sexual abuse by
an adult caretaker were associated with the likelihood of running away from
home for the,first time. Moreover, age at first run and the amount of time
that elapsed since first running away from home were associated with the l
ikelihood of spending tune directly on the street for the first time. Final
ly, although males and White youths were no more likely than females and no
n-White youths, respectively, to run away initially, males and White youths
were more likely than females and non-White youths, respectively, to spend
time directly on the street.