Introduction

The heterogeneity of street-involved youth was examined using a person-centered approach. Youth were classified based on patterns of street involvement and the identified profiles compared to identify theoretically coherent and practically significant differences.

Methods

Participants were 111 street-involved youth aged 9 to 18 (M age = 14.15 years; 81.1% male, 91.1% non-white) from three Brazilian cities. Youth completed a life history interview and structured assessment. Latent class analysis was used to identify three profiles of youth based on reasons for going to the street and connections to major developmental contexts (street, family, institutions). Profile comparisons on psychosocial variables (e.g., age, life events) and adjustment indicators (e.g., drug use, life satisfaction) were conducted using multinomial logistic regression.

Results

The largest profile (48.6%) included youth drawn to the street by drug use or trafficking, who had moderate connections to street and family. Another group (40.5%) went to the street to escape family dysfunction, and the street represented their primary developmental context. These groups differed on some psychosocial indicators but had similar patterns of adjustment. The third group of youth (10.8%) had families with a history of street involvement and maintained strong ties to all three developmental contexts. These youth had generally better adjustment than their peers (e.g., less drug use, higher life satisfaction) but had higher levels of sexual risk related to the overrepresentation of girls.

Conclusions

Street involvement is a multidetermined phenomenon that may expose young people to distinct conditions of vulnerability. Findings have implications for research, practice, and policy.

中文翻译：

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捕捉街头生活的异质性：以人为本的街头历史和青年社会关系分析

介绍

使用以人为中心的方法检查了街头青年的异质性。青年根据街头参与的模式进行分类，并将确定的概况进行比较，以确定理论上一致和实际显着的差异。

方法

参与者是来自巴西三个城市的111 名 9 至 18 岁的街头青年（M年龄 = 14.15 岁；81.1% 男性，91.1% 非白人）。青年完成了生活史访谈和结构化评估。根据上街原因和与主要发展环境（街道、家庭、机构）的联系，使用潜在类别分析来确定青年的三种概况。使用多项逻辑回归对社会心理变量（例如，年龄、生活事件）和调整指标（例如，吸毒、生活满意度）进行概况比较。

结果

最大的特征 (48.6%) 包括因吸毒或贩运而流向街头的青年，他们与街头和家人有中等联系。另一组 (40.5%) 上街是为了逃避家庭功能障碍，而街道代表了他们的主要发展环境。这些群体在一些社会心理指标上有所不同，但具有相似的调整模式。第三组青年 (10.8%) 的家庭有过街头参与的历史，并且与所有三个发展环境都保持着密切的联系。这些年轻人通常比同龄人有更好的适应能力（例如，吸毒更少，生活满意度更高），但与女孩人数过多相关的性风险水平更高。

结论

街头参与是一种多因素现象，可能使年轻人面临不同的脆弱状况。研究结果对研究、实践和政策都有影响。