Experiences of Family Conflict in Shelter-Residing Runaway Youth: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Family conflict is the most significant factor that causes adolescents to run away from home. This study explored the experiences of family conflict from the perspective of Korean runaway youth. We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study using in-depth interviews with nine female runaway youth. Audio-recorded interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the Colaizzi method. We found that the participants had experienced complex family conflicts since early childhood, such as parental conflict and mental health issues, abuse, neglect, lack of parental understanding, and poverty. Participants had negative emotions and coping problems regarding family conflict(s), before leaving home. After running away, they experienced ambivalent feelings, and felt both hatred and compassion towards their parents. Their experiences influenced their thoughts regarding future family relationships. Understanding the viewpoint of runaway youth in terms of family conflict can assist in the development of interventions designed for such youth.

Keywords

family conflict homeless youth mental health qualitative research runaway youth

Runaway youth exhibit a vulnerability to mental illnesses. Research has shown a higher prevalence of alcohol abuse and similar prevalence rates for experiences of traumatic events, depressive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder among runaway and homeless youth, compared to homeless adults (Saddichha et al., 2014). A study on Korean runaway youth reported that 37.1% of the youth suffered from drinking problems, and the prevalence of depression among female and male runaway youth were 42% and 20%, respectively (Ko et al., 2016).

A survey on Korean runaway youth residing in youth shelters noted that 15.9% of them had slept on the streets before arriving at the shelters; this indicates that there is a high risk of involvement in delinquency or street crimes, after having run away (Jeon & Lee, 2012). Additionally, 21% of them had experiences of having formed a “runaway-family,” by living together like a family with other runaway youth at residential facilities such as motels and studios, after having run away from their family homes (Jeon & Lee, 2012). This new culture of “runaway-family” is likely to lead the youth to group delinquency or crimes, due to negative peer pressure (Suh & Kim, 2013).

The main causes of adolescent runaways in Korean society are attributed to family conflict, the desire to live freely, and the burden of studying: these account for 70%, 7.1%, and 3.9% of cases, respectively (Kim et al., 2018). Across multiple cultures, family conflict is the most significant factor in adolescents’ decision to run away from home (Fernandes-Alcantara, 2019; Lee et al., 2011; Roche & Barker, 2017). Family conflict refers to an expressed struggle in which at least two interdependent family members perceive that their needs and expectations are in conflict with each other and with other family members’ needs and expectations (Galvin et al., 2019). Korean adolescents’ perceptions of family conflicts mainly involve parental conflict and parent-adolescent conflict (Chung & Choi, 2004). Many adolescents run away to escape from family relationship conflicts, authoritarian parenting style, abusive and neglectful environments, and family poverty (Roche & Barker, 2017; Techakasem & Kolkijkovin, 2006). Most Korean runaway youth respond negatively to the prospect of returning home as they are concerned about encountering the family conflict(s) experienced previously (Jeon & Lee, 2012).

The life course perspective suggests that family adversity experienced in childhood is linked to mental health conditions in adolescence and adulthood (Johnson et al., 2011). Parents’ divorce or separation can affect children’s development and increases risk of depressive mood in childhood and adolescence (D’Onofrio & Emery, 2019). Previous research suggests that negative outcomes of childhood, such as depressive symptoms, can persist into adolescence and adulthood (Fombonne et al., 2001; Stansfeld et al., 2008). Among transitional age youth (TAY) from 16 years to 24 years old, experience of family conflict is related to leaving school, moving out of the family home earlier, and failing to transition successfully into adult roles (Cobb-Clark & Ribar, 2009). Building romantic relationships is a developmental task during the transition to adulthood (Shulman & Connolly, 2013); however, family conflict(s) during childhood is associated with strained romantic relationships among TAY (Borst, 2015; Dinero et al., 2008).

A study on recent research trend in Korean runaway youth revealed that research to identify the factors for running away, the characteristics and problems of runaway youth, or intervene in runaway youth’s problems were mainly conducted, and these studies mainly used quantitative empirical methods; in contrast, relatively a few studies have dealt with the experiences of runaway youth and used qualitative research methods (Park & Lee, 2018). Running away among the youth is closely related to family conflict(s); therefore, it is necessary to understand the essence of the phenomenon of family conflict from the runaway youth’s perspective, and not from the third party’s problem-centric viewpoint. Because family conflicts occur in the context of relational and interactional dynamics (Galvin et al., 2019), a holistic approach is required to understand the family conflict(s) experienced, from the runaway youth’s perspective. Phenomenological research, a form of qualitative research, aims to describe the essence of a phenomena by making an individual’s lived experiences the subject of research (Neubauer et al., 2019). It has the advantage of subjectively understanding the world of research participants (Smith, 2013). This characteristic of phenomenological research enables rich and detailed descriptions of family conflict experiences of runaway youth, which are otherwise difficult to explore. The present phenomenological study aimed to explore the meaning and essence of family conflict from the perspectives of runaway youth residing in youth shelters. The findings of this study will help to expand the understanding of life and experiences of runaway youth, and aid in planning tailored interventions for them.

Methods

Study Design

We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study using in-depth interviews with female runaway youth.

Setting and Participants

Runaway youth refer to youth who have left home for more than 24 hours without the permission of a parent or legal guardian (Family and Youth Services Bureau, 2018; Hong & Nam, 2007). Runaways choose to live elsewhere without the consent of their parent or legal guardian; in contrast, throwaway youth are forced to leave their homes and live elsewhere by their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) and have no choice (Colby, 2011). This study focused on youth who ran away from their respective homes, without parental permission, and are determined to reside in runaway youth shelters willingly. Youth shelters operated and supported by the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family provides runaway youth with a place to reside, food, hygiene supplies, and crisis counseling.

The inclusion criteria for participants were that (a) they had to be female youths aged between 18 years and 24 years; (b) they had to have run away from their homes because of family conflict(s), without parental permission; (c) they were currently residing volitionally in shelters for runaway youth; and, (d) they agreed to participate in the study. The target participants of this study were TAY; adolescents below the age of 18 years were excluded because we wanted to recruit those who were able to articulate and discuss their life experiences more extensively. Purposive sampling was conducted to ensure the inclusion of participants who met the selection criteria of this study, and were psychologically stable and fully capable of explaining and reflecting on their experiences.

Participants were recruited from two shelters for female youth runaways. Researchers approached the participants in person and recruited them with help from shelter workers. Recruitment continued until data saturation was achieved. A total of nine participants were interviewed.

Data Collection

Data collection took place between August and October, 2018. For participants’ comfort and privacy, face-to-face interviews were conducted in counseling rooms in the youth shelters where participants resided. Some examples of open-ended questions from the unstructured interviews used in this study are as follows: (a) “Have you ever experienced family conflict(s)?”; (b) “What does family conflict mean to you?”; (c) “Tell me about any family conflict(s) you have experienced,”; (d) “How did you feel when you encountered a family conflict?”; and, (e) “How do you feel about your experience of family conflict(s)?”. Each participant was interviewed once and the interviews lasted for approximately 50 minutes to 90 minutes. Interviews were audio-recorded, and reflective field notes were made afterwards. Data collection was concurrent with data analysis, and two researchers agreed upon reaching data saturation when no new themes emerged.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Eulji University (EU 18-56). After obtaining permission from both youth shelters, researchers provided an information leaflet to participants explaining the study’s purpose and procedures, possible benefits and risks of participation, confidentiality, anonymity, and autonomy regarding withdrawal of consent. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant.

Data Analysis

Audio-recorded interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method of phenomenological analysis (Colaizzi, 1978). Two researchers independently read each transcript to obtain a global sense of the phenomenon and extracted significant statements. Field notes were also referred to during analysis. Theme clusters and themes were created after formulating meaning from significant statements. By integrating all the findings, an exhaustive description of the phenomenon was developed. The two researchers discussed and compared their respective notes on the themes and reached an agreement on the final themes.

Rigor

Criteria such as credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability were used to ensure the trustworthiness of the qualitative data (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). To enhance credibility, all interviews were audio-recorded, and we conducted peer debriefing with a professor of psychiatry and a mental health nurse. To enhance dependability, two researchers analyzed the same data independently, compared their results, and agreed on the final themes together. Confirmability was strengthened by reflective journal writing. Thick description and purposive sampling were used to enhance transferability.

Results

Study participants included nine females aged between 18 years and 21 years (M_age = 18.9 years). Five participants were high school dropouts, three were high school graduates, and one was in college. Participants’ duration of residence in the current shelter ranged from three to twelve months (M_duration = 5.1 months; Table 1). In the present study, 34 formulated meanings were extracted from the interview data, which were then categorized into 12 theme clusters. Four themes were formed by integrating similar theme clusters (Table 2).

Table 1.

Participants’ Characteristics.

Interviewee	Age (years)	Education level	Duration of residence in current shelter
Interviewee 1	18	High school dropout	3 months
Interviewee 2	18	In college	12 months
Interviewee 3	18	High school dropout	3 months
Interviewee 4	18	High school dropout	3 months
Interviewee 5	18	High school dropout	3 months
Interviewee 6	21	High school graduate	3 months
Interviewee 7	18	High school dropout	10 months
Interviewee 8	20	High school graduate	6 months
Interviewee 9	21	High school graduate	3 months

Table 2.

Themes and Theme Clusters of Family Conflict Experienced by Runaway Youth.

Formulated meaning	Theme cluster	Theme
Exposure to parental conflict while growing up	Worsening of parent- youth relationship due to parental conflict	Complex situations that aggravate the parent-youth relationship
Parents blamed child for the cause of parental conflict
Parental dislike due to youth’s resemblance to the other parent
Parental interference with contact between youth and the other parent
Parental alcohol abuse	Increased conflict due to parental mental health issues
Parental mental health problems	Increased conflict due to parental mental health issues
Experience of domestic violence	Experiences of abuse and neglect
Experience of neglect
Parental favoritism of a sibling
Poor communication between parents and youth	Lack of understanding between parents and youth
Excessive parental control over youth’s behavior	Lack of understanding between parents and youth
Envious feeling toward and comparison with peers	Financial stress due to parents’ financial incompetence
Working part-time due to family poverty	Financial stress due to parents’ financial incompetence
Guilt over parental conflict	Negative emotional reactions toward family conflict(s)	Emotional reactions and coping responses toward family conflict(s) before leaving home
Feeling abandoned by parents
Feeling resentful towards parents
Feeling miserable in one’s life
Self-harm, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts
Conflict avoidance	Passive coping responses toward family conflict(s)
Trying not to think about conflict
Enduring verbal and physical violence
Attempting to talk with parents to resolve conflict(s)	Active coping responses toward family conflict(s)
Fighting with parents
Asking others for help
Feeling comfortable after being separated from parents	Feeling hatred towards parents	Feeling ambivalent towards parents after leaving home
Planning to live independently without wanting to return home
Wanting to sever family relationships
Not liking one’s own feelings of anger and hatred towards parents	Feeling compassion towards parents
Feeling pity for parents
Wanting to forgive parents
Fear of being like parents	Anxiety about future marital and parental roles	Thoughts of future family relationships by reflecting on family conflict(s) within family of origin
Not wanting marriage and children in the future	Anxiety about future marital and parental roles
Wishing for an “ordinary” family that could have conversations and understand each other	Future family they wish to create
Wishing for parents with the financial ability to raise children	Future family they wish to create

Theme 1. Complex Situations that Aggravate the Parent-Youth Relationship

Worsening of parent-youth relationship due to parental conflict

The relationship between parents and youth worsened as parental conflicts became more frequent and complex. Since early childhood, almost all participants had been exposed to ongoing parental conflicts such as marital discord, parental separation, and divorce. Participants’ parents often blamed the participants as the cause of the conflict. Participants remembered experiencing shock when their parents said that they had fought or had been miserable because of them. Some parents did not like their children because of their resemblance to their spouse (other parent). After a divorce, the parent with whom a participant lived often interfered when the participant tried to contact or visit the other parent. Thus, the participant would often drift apart from the parent not living with them.

When my parents fought, they told me that they fought because of me. I was very shocked by that. That made me feel small. I thought I did something wrong. I thought that it was wrong for me to exist. (Youth 9)

After my mom left home, my dad told me to erase my mom’s contact information. He said that he would change our home phone number. He told me not to call mom again. (Youth 7)

Increased conflict due to parental mental health issues

Some participants expressed difficulties due to parents’ alcohol abuse and mental health problems such as self-harm, which, in turn, increased family conflict(s).

My dad drank like five days a week. He would come back home drunk at night and would wake me up from sleep to say something to me. (Youth 8)

My dad used to inflict self-harm, and he was so violent. When he was drunk, he would hit someone passing by. (Youth 2)

Experiences of abuse and neglect

All participants experienced some level of abuse and neglect. Many were subject to domestic violence from their parents or other family members who lived with them, and participants reported that their parents were emotionally and/or physically neglectful. In addition, many parents favored participants’ siblings, which deteriorated family relationships.

My dad used to talk violently, swear, and act violently. He broke things and hit me and my younger sister. Not only my dad, but also my grandma was violent. She hit me and my younger sister. (Youth 2)

My mom was very neglectful. When she came back from work at night, she used to bring snack food and told me to eat it; then, she just went to sleep or went out. My mom seemed to go out to have fun somewhere every night. (Youth 9)

Lack of understanding between parents and youth

Most youths reported a lack of understanding between themselves and their parents. They stated that there was little conversation between them; sometimes, the conversation was violent. Some participants stated their parents excessively controlled their behavior in terms of curfews, relationships with friends, and academic performance. They also stated that they were physically punished if they did not obey their parents’ rules.

I could not even imagine playing at my friend’s house. My dad determined the exact time by which I was expected to come home from school. If I did not return home on time, he used to hit me. He said it was discipline. He said that he was trying to make me live the right way. (Youth 1)

Financial stress due to parents’ financial incompetence

Most participants experienced financial hardship and stress due to their parents’ financial incompetence. They were envious of peers’ material possessions and compared themselves to schoolmates, whose parents were economically better off. They started working part-time at an early age due to family poverty, and sometimes they gave their earnings to their parents.

I hated being poor. Because I was poor, I compared my status to my classmates. I was in the arts program at my high school. We had containers for art pencils. My classmates had many pencils in those containers, but I only had one pencil. I envied them. (Youth 8)

Theme 2. Emotional Reactions and Coping Responses toward Family Conflict(s) before Leaving Home

Negative emotional reactions toward family conflict(s)

Before leaving home, participants experienced negative emotions due to family conflict(s). They felt guilty for causing their parents’ conflict. When parental conflict(s) made one of their parents leave home, they felt abandoned by the parent. They felt resentment not only towards the violent parent they lived with but also towards the other parent who left his/her children in such a situation. They stated that their lives got more miserable as they got older. They also experienced self-harm and suicidal ideation due to family conflict(s), and some even attempted suicide.

I thought that I did something wrong. I thought if I was good, my mom would not have had an affair, and then my parents would not have divorced, and my family would not be in such a messy state. I thought that if I held onto mom when she left home to get a divorce…. I regretted not having done things. I thought I influenced the divorce. (Youth 2)

Passive coping responses toward family conflict(s)

Participants mainly coped passively before leaving home. They avoided conflict by trying not to encounter conflicting family members as much as possible. In addition, they tried not to keep thinking about family conflict(s). In their early adolescence, they mostly endured verbal and physical violence in their homes without rebelling against their parent or asking others for help.

When my dad was at home, I only felt stable when I was inside my room. I rarely sat in the living room, to avoid him. (Youth 2)

I tried to forget. I thought about things other than my family, because I could not see family situations in a positive light. (Youth 1)

Active coping responses toward family conflict(s)

As participants approached the transition into adulthood, they tended to cope more actively with family conflict(s). They attempted to talk with their parents rationally to resolve conflict, and they also fought with their parents. They told other people, such as friends and teachers, about their family situation and asked for help.

I thought that dad would understand me if I talked rationally. So, I said that I did this wrong, but dad did that wrong. However, he would not agree. After we’d fight, I tried to apologize for doing some things and talk to him. (Youth 6)

Theme 3. Feeling Ambivalent towards Parents after Leaving Home

Feeling hatred towards parents

Participants stated that they hated their parents because of the experiences of family conflict at home. They felt more comfortable after being separated from their parents. Most participants wanted to and even planned to live independently without returning home; they were working part-time to be financially independent from their parents. Some participants wanted to sever all family relationships.

I thought it would be better not to have parents at all. I want to erase my name from the family register when I am an adult, but that is not easy. So, I want to sever all ties with my mom, everything related to her, except for the family register. (Youth 3)

Feeling compassion towards parents

Along with hating their parents, participants felt compassion for them. They said that they did not like their own feelings of anger and hatred towards parents. They felt pity for their parents who could not live better lives. They also said they would like to forgive their parents someday.

I feel pity for my dad. Why could he not act and live any better than he did? (Youth 2)

Theme 4. Thoughts of Future Family Relationships by Reflecting on Family Conflict(s) within Family of Origin

Anxiety about future marital and parental roles

Participants were anxious about their future marital and parental roles as they reflected upon their conflict(s) within their family of origin. They were afraid that they would be like their parents; therefore, they did not want to marry and have children in the future.

I am afraid that I will be like my mom, when I get married and have kids later. That is why I do not want to get married. I also feel that I will make my kids like me. (Youth 3)

Future family they wish to create

Participants wished to create a future family with completely different characteristics from their family of origin. They wished for an “ordinary” family that could have conversations and understand each other. Participants also thought that parents should have the financial ability to raise children.

I wish I had an ordinary family that argues sometimes but makes peace with each other. I wish I had a normal family like other families. (Youth 6)

Discussion

Contrary to the conventional perspective that parental separation/divorce can have serious adverse effects on children’s development and mental health, there is also the perspective that parental separation/divorce can positively affect children already exposed to high parental conflict at home (D’Onofrio & Emery, 2019). However, despite exposure to severe parental conflict since early childhood, participants in our study reported negative changes in the parent-youth relationship after parental separation/divorce. This finding seems to relate to parents’ attitude and behavior towards their children rather than parental conflict itself. Participants reported that their parents blamed them for parental conflict and did not like them because of their resemblance to the other parent. Additionally, after divorce, the parent with whom the participant lived interfered with their desire to contact the other parent. Thus, parental attitude and behaviors towards adolescents, not marital instability itself, appeared to affect the parent-youth relationship quality.

We found that participants’ parents often suffered from alcohol abuse and mental health problems, which increased family conflict(s). This was in line with studies asserting that parental alcohol misuse and mental health issues are associated with poor parent-child(ren) relationships and youth’s running away (McLaughlin et al, 2015; Roche & Barker, 2017). The present study also found that abusive and neglectful parenting deteriorated parent-youth relationships and influenced participants’ decisions to run away from home. Not only domestic violence and neglect but also parental favoritism worsened parent-youth relationships and family conflict. Consistent with our findings, a previous study reported that parental favoritism for one sibling over another is associated with family conflict and youth homelessness (Buccieri, 2019). Another study also demonstrated that perceived maternal favoritism is associated with reduced closeness among adult siblings (Suitor et al., 2009). Therefore, parent training programs should address prevention of parental favoritism as well as child abuse and neglect.

This study extracted a theme cluster of a lack of understanding between parents and youth through formulated meanings of poor family communication and excessive parental control. Over-controlling parents appear to employ authoritarian parenting, which demands blind obedience from children (Baumrind, 1967). Previous studies reported that parent-adolescent conflict could be related to authoritarian parenting styles and disagreements between parents and adolescents regarding expectations for adolescents’ autonomy (Bi et al., 2018; Pérez et al., 2016). Participants’ parents used punitive discipline measures to control participants’ behaviors, which went against the participants’ desire for autonomy. A lack of understanding between authoritarian parents and participants who needed autonomy appeared to be a cause of parent-youth conflict. Therefore, consistent with a previous study (Laursen & Collins, 2004); this study suggests the need for training programs for parents and their adolescent children to learn effective communication skills appropriate to the developmental challenges of adolescent autonomy and the accompanying changes in parent-adolescent relationships.

Consistent with previous studies (Roche & Barker, 2017; Techakasem & Kolkijkovin, 2006), our study identified family poverty as a source of parent- youth conflict. Participants who experienced family poverty reported that they were envious of peers’ material possessions, compared their own status to peers, and felt inferior to their peers. This is consistent with findings of a previous study suggesting that social comparisons arising from envious feelings influence low self-esteem in adolescents (Poelker et al., 2016).

We found a number of emotional issues related to family conflict that our participants had to address as they matured. Participants felt guilty because they had been blamed for parental conflict. Parents blaming children for other family members’ problems is a part of parental psychological control that induces guilt and leads to internalizing problems, such as depressive symptoms, among adolescents (Cui et al., 2014). Along with negative emotional reactions to family conflict, participants experienced difficulties in coping with family conflict(s) before leaving home. They mainly used passive coping strategies, as noted by a previous study; adolescents experiencing serious family conflict used disengagement coping strategies such as avoidance and denial, rather than efficient coping strategies such as problem-solving, emotional expression, and emotional regulation (Wadsworth & Compas, 2002). Adolescents who used disengagement coping strategies were reported to be more likely to have depression, anxiety, and aggressive behaviors (Wadsworth & Compas, 2002); therefore, the youth having experienced severe family conflict(s) and who use passive coping strategies are considered to be at high risk of emotional and behavioral problems. These results underline the need to provide mental health screening and interventions for adolescents experiencing family conflict(s). Furthermore, after running away and reflecting on past experiences, participants of transition age to adulthood had ambivalent feelings of hatred and compassion towards their parents. Thus, runaway youth who experienced domestic abuse need to be aware of these possible ambivalent feelings and be able to express and regulate their emotions to prevent emotional and behavioral problems (Park & Kim, 2009).

Conflictual environments experienced in their family of origin influenced participants’ thoughts about future family relationships. Participants expressed low self-esteem and anxiety about their own future, marital, and parental roles by reflecting upon parental conflict and parent- youth conflict within their family of origin. This finding is consistent with a previous study reporting that conflictual interactions with the family of origin are associated with avoidance and anxiety in romantic relationships among youth transitioning into adulthood (Dinero et al., 2008). In addition, another previous study reported that children who experienced family conflict were not likely to succeed in adult romantic relationships as a result of poor family relationships in the family of origin (Borst, 2015). Our finding improves our understanding of the life course perspective, suggesting a link between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Johnson et al., 2011).

Although the participants had negative expectations of their own future marital and parental roles, they also wished to create a future family with completely different characteristics from their experiences. These results imply that runaway youth during the transition phase to adulthood reflected upon their experiences in their respective families to prepare for adult life. To promote a successful transition process from youth to adulthood, support services are needed to prepare for adult life (Häggman-Laitila et al., 2019). The results of this study can help to develop such support programs based on the experiences, needs, and wishes of runaway youth; however, further studies are required to establish factors for support programs.

The present study is limited by its small sample size of runaway youths from only one metropolitan area of Korea. Therefore, generalization of the findings is limited due to a non-representative, homogenous sample. However, this study’s strength is its phenomenological approach, which uncovered meaningful findings that extant research has missed. Most adolescents run away from home because of family conflict(s); however, since family conflict tends to be regarded as a private affair that needs to be resolved within the family in the Korean culture (Kim, Lee, Lee, & Kim, 2014), and runaway youth are a hard-to-reach population, there has been a lack of research on family conflict from the perspective of runaway youth. It is possible that our participants gave socially desirable responses in face-to-face interviews, which might introduce limitations to this study. However, through efforts to build rapport and trust with the participants, we encouraged honest responses, and we believe participants felt comfortable sharing their experiences.

This study indicates that family conflict results in adolescent runaways, mental health issues, and poses potential obstacles to a successful transition from youth to adulthood. Considering the social consequences of family conflict(s), we support the perspective that family conflict(s) should be dealt with publicly available interventions (D’Onofrio & Emery, 2019).

This study targeted TAY; therefore, future research should be conducted on early and middle adolescent runaways who have experienced severe family conflict(s). In addition, establishing evidence-based recommendations for programs for runaway youths and their families should be addressed in future studies. Future research should also develop evidence-based interventions and evaluate effects of such interventions.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that runaway youth experience complex situations that aggravate problems in the parent- youth relationship. Before leaving home, youths often experience family conflict(s) that involve(s) negative emotions and coping difficulties. After running away, youths often have ambivalent feelings of both hatred and compassion towards their parents. Reflections on family conflict experienced in their family of origin influence youths’ thoughts on future family relationships. Understanding the viewpoint of runaway youth with respect to family conflict can assist in the development of interventions for the youth and their families. Parent training programs dealing with prevention of abuse, neglect, and parental favoritism could target some problems youth experience. In addition, communication skills training programs for families, aligned with the developmental challenges of adolescent autonomy and changes in parent-adolescent relationships, would also be beneficial. As runaway youth are likely to develop mental health concerns, such as internalizing problems, experiencing ambivalent feelings towards parents, and anxiety about future family relationships, it is necessary to provide mental health screening and interventions for them. Understanding family conflict and its consequences for youth is critical to mental health care professionals across numerous settings including community centers, schools, and youth shelters. Finally, our study indicates that runaway TAY have potential problems in transitioning into mature adults; therefore, we recommend the development of support programs for runaway youth to successfully transition to adult life.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2018R1C1B5041097).

Ethical approval

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Eulji University Institutional Review Board (registration number: EU 18-56).

ORCID iD

Dabok Noh

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