Homeless youth frequently experience victimization, and youth with histories of trauma often fail to detect danger risks, making them vulnerable to subsequent victimization. The current study describes a pilot test of a skills-based intervention designed to improve risk detection among homeless youth through focusing attention to internal, interpersonal, and environmental cues. Youth aged 18 to 21 years (N = 74) were recruited from a shelter and randomly assigned to receive usual case management services or usual services plus a 3-day manualized risk detection intervention. Pretest and posttest interviews assessed youths’ risk detection abilities through vignettes describing risky situations and asking youth to identify risk cues present. Separate 2 (intervention vs. control) × 2 (pretest vs. posttest) mixed ANOVAs found significant interaction effects, as intervention youth significantly improved in overall risk detection compared with control youth. Post hoc subgroup analyses found the intervention had a greater effect for youth without previous experiences of indirect victimization than those with previous indirect victimization experiences.
AlderC. (1991). Victims of violence: The case of homeless youth. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 24, 1-14. doi:10.1177/000486589102400101
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
AtkinsD. C. (2009). Clinical trials methodology: Randomization, intent-to-treat, and random-effects regression. Depression and Anxiety, 26, 697-700. doi:10.1002/da.20594
4.
AuerswaldC. L.EyreS. L. (2002). Youth homelessness in San Francisco: A life cycle approach. Social Science & Medicine, 54, 1497-1512. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00128-9
5.
BenderK.FergusonK.ThompsonS.KomloC.PollioD. (2010). Factors associated with trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder among homeless youth in three U.S. cities: The importance of transience. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 161-168. doi:10.1177/1063426613476093
6.
BenderK.ThompsonS.FergusonK.YoderJ.DePrinceA. (2015). Risk detection and self-protection among homeless youth. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 25, 352-365. doi:10.1111/jora.12123
7.
Boney-McCoyS.FinkelhorD. (1996). Is youth victimization related to trauma symptoms and depression after controlling for prior symptoms and family relationships? A longitudinal, prospective study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1406-1416. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.64.6.1406
8.
ChuA. T.DePrinceA. P.MaussI. B. (2014). Exploring revictimization risk in a community sample of sexual assault survivors. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 15, 319-331. doi:10.1080/15299732.2013.853723
9.
CoatesJ.McKenzie-MohrS. (2010). Out of the frying pan, into the fire: Trauma in the lives of homeless youth prior to and during homelessness. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 37, 65-96.
10.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
CromerL. D.StevensC.DePrinceA. P.PearsK. (2006). The relationship between executive attention and dissociation in children. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 7, 135-153. doi:10.1300/J229v07n04_08
12.
DePrinceA. P. (2005). Social cognition and revictimization risk. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 6, 125-141. doi:10.1300/J229v06n01_08
13.
DePrinceA. P.ChuA. T.CombsM. D. (2008). Trauma-related predictors of deontic reasoning: A pilot study in a community sample of children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 732-737. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.10.006
DePrinceA. P.ChuA. T.LabusJ.ShirkS. R.PotterC. (2015). Testing two approaches to revictimization prevention among adolescent girls in the child welfare system. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(Suppl. 2), S33-S39. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.06.022
16.
DePrinceA. P.CombsM. D.ShanahanM. (2009). Automatic relationship-harm associations and interpersonal trauma involving close others. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33, 163-171. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01486.x
17.
DePrinceA. P.FreydJ. J. (1999). Dissociative tendencies, attention, and memory. Psychological Science, 10, 449-452. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00185
DePrinceA. P.WeinzierlK. M.CombsM. D. (2009). Executive function performance and trauma exposure in a community sample of children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 353-361. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.08.002
20.
EnsignJ.SantelliJ. (1998). Health status and service use: Comparison of adolescents at a school-based health clinic with homeless adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 152, 20-24.
21.
FergusonK. M.BenderK. A.ThompsonS. J.XieB.PollioD. (2012). Exploration of arrest activity among homeless young adults in four U.S. cities. Social Work Research, 36, 233-238.
22.
FisherM.FlorsheimP.SheetzJ. (2005). That’s not my problem: Convergence and divergence between self- and other-identified problems among homeless adolescents. Child and Youth Care Forum, 34, 393-403. doi:10.1007/s10566-005-7753-9
23.
GaetzS. (2004). Safe streets for whom? Homeless youth, social exclusion, and criminal victimization. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice/La Revue Canadienne de Criminologie et de Justice Pénale, 46, 423-456.
24.
GrossD.FoggL. (2004). A critical analysis of the intent-to-treat principle in prevention research. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 25, 475-498. doi:10.1023/B:JOPP.0000048113.77939
25.
KeeshinB. R.CampbellK. (2011). Screening homeless youth for histories of abuse: Prevalence, enduring effects, and interest in treatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35, 401-407. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.01.015
26.
KipkeM. D.SimonT. R.MontgomeryS. B.UngerJ. B.IversenE. F. (1997). Homeless youth and their exposure to and involvement in violence while living on the streets. Journal of Adolescent Health, 20, 360-367. doi:10.1016/S1054-139X(97)00037-2
27.
KubanyE. S.LeisenM. B.KaplanA. S.WatsonS. B.HaynesS. N.OwensJ. A.BurnsK. (2000). Development and preliminary validation of a brief broad-spectrum measure of trauma exposure: The Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 12, 210-224. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.12.2.210
28.
LachinJ. M. (2000). Statistical considerations in the intent-to-treat principle. Controlled Clinical Trials, 21, 167-189. doi:10.1016/S0197-2456(00)00046-5
29.
LecrubierY.SheehanD.WeillerE.AmorimP.BonoraI.SheehanK. H.. . . DunbarG. (1997). The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). A short diagnostic structured interview: Reliability and validity according to the CIDI. European Psychiatry, 12, 224-231. doi:10.1016/S0924-9338(97)83296-8
30.
LernerJ. S.GonzalezR. M.SmallD. A.FischhoffB. (2003). Effects of fear and anger on perceived risks of terrorism: A national field experiment. Psychological Science, 14, 144-150. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.01433
31.
MarxB. P.CalhounK. S.WilsonA. E.MeyersonL. A. (2001). Sexual revictimization prevention: An outcome evaluation. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 69(1), 25. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.69.1.25
32.
McManusH. H.ThompsonS. J. (2008). Trauma among unaccompanied homeless youth: The integration of street culture into a model of intervention. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 16, 92-109. doi:10.1080/10926770801920818
33.
MelanderL. A.TylerK. A. (2010). The effect of early maltreatment, victimization, and partner violence on HIV risk behavior among homeless young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47, 575-581. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.04.010
34.
OlssonT. M. (2010). Intervening in youth problem behavior in Sweden: A pragmatic cost analysis of MST from a randomized trial with conduct disorder youth. International Journal of Social Welfare, 19, 194-205. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2397.2009.00653.x
35.
Reichmann-DeckerA.DePrinceA. P.McIntoshD. N. (2009). Affective responsiveness, betrayal, and childhood abuse. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 10, 276-296. doi:10.1080/15299730902956788
36.
RoemerL.OrsilloS. M. (2003). Mindfulness: A promising intervention strategy in need of further study. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 172-178. doi:10.1093/clipsy.bpg020
37.
RytwinskiN. K.AvenaJ. S.Echiverri-CohenA. M.ZoellnerL. A.FeenyN. C. (2013). The relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder severity, depression severity and physical health. Journal of Health Psychology, 19, 509-520. doi:10.1177/1359105312474913
38.
SandbergD. A.MatorinA. I.LynnS. J. (1999). Dissociation, posttraumatic symptomatology, and sexual revictimization: A prospective examination of mediator and moderator effects. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 12, 127-138. doi:10.1023/A:1024702501224
39.
SegalZ. V.WilliamsJ. M. G.TeasdaleJ. D. (2012). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
40.
SheehanD. V.LecrubierY. (1998). Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Tampa: University of South Florida Press.
41.
SheehanD. V.LecrubierY.Harnett SheehanK.JanavsJ.WeillerE.KeskinerA.. . . DunbarG. C. (1997). The validity of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) according to the SCID-P and its reliability. European Psychiatry, 12, 232-241. doi:10.1016/S0924-9338(97)83297-X
42.
SlovicP.PetersE. (2006). Risk perception and affect. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 322-325. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00461.x
43.
StewartA. J.SteimanM.CauceA. M.CochranB. N.WhitbeckL. B.HoytD. R. (2004). Victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder among homeless adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 325-331. doi:10.1097/00004583-200403000-00015
44.
TylerK. A.HoytD. R.WhitbeckL. B.CauceA. M. (2001a). The effects of a high-risk environment on the sexual victimization of homeless and runaway youth. Violence and Victims, 16, 441-455.
45.
TylerK.JohnsonK. (2004). Victims and offenders: Accounts of paybacks, invulnerability, and financial gain among homeless youth. Deviant Behavior, 25, 427-449. doi:10.1080/01639620490468561
46.
WhitbeckL. B.HoytD. R.AckleyK. A. (1997). Abusive family backgrounds and later victimization among runaway and homeless adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 7, 375-392. doi:10.1207/s15327795jra0704_2
47.
WhitbeckL. B.HoytD. R.BaoW. N. (2000). Depressive symptoms and co-occurring depressive symptoms, substance abuse, and conduct problems among runaway and homeless adolescents. Child Development, 71, 721-732. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00181
48.
WhitbeckL. B.HoytD. R.YoderK. A. (1999). A risk-amplification model of victimization and depressive symptoms among runaway and homeless adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 273-296. doi:10.1023/A:1022891802943
49.
YoderK. A.WhitbeckL. B.HoytD. R. (2003). Gang involvement and membership among homeless and runaway youth. Youth & Society, 34, 441-467. doi:10.1177/0044118X03034004003
