Absconding: An Exploration Into Why Youth Abscond From Out-of-Home Care

Abstract

Youth absconding from out-of-home care is a prevalent and concerning issue that faces out-of-home care facilities. When youth abscond from care it creates a myriad of negative consequences for the young person, to those around them (family and friends) and society. There are a range of explanations within the literature as to why youth abscond from care, which can be grouped into individual, familial and contextual factors. This research explored the risk and protective factors for absconding behaviour through two studies, one using quantitative methodology and the other qualitative. The quantitative study examined the risk factors for absconding and the frequency of absconding through a retrospective file audit of young people who had resided in out-of-home care (n = 241). Regression analyses revealed that there was a significant relationship between absconding and gender, number of admissions to care and MAYSI-2 suicide scores. Analyses also showed that there was a significant relationship between the frequency of absconding and gender and number of admissions to care. The qualitative study involved interviewing 40 young people from out-of-home care to explore what risk and protective factors may impact absconding behaviour. Results indicated the following; (1) relationships and sense of connection are important to young people, (2) young people find life in a residential home boring, (3) that freedom and autonomy are highly valued by young people, (4) the system frustrates young people, and that (5) smoking influenced many young people to abscond. The findings from this research are discussed in relation to their clinical implications. It is essential to understand why youth abscond and the risk and protective factors that contribute to absconding in order to ultimately prevent and reduce rates of absconding.