Paul A. Toro, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology,
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Webinar, March 22, 2012
This powerpoint presentation will be available on the website of the
National Alliance to End Homelessness

• The population of homeless youth is heterogeneous
• Early typologies were crude (e.g., runaways vs. throwaways vs. systems kids vs. street kids)
• A full paper presenting these findings appeared in a recent issue of NAEH’s Research Matters.

The Housing, Adolescence, and Life Outcomes
(HALO) Project:
A longitudinal study of 250 homeless and 148 matched housed adolescents
This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

• Adolescents (ages 13-17) were sampled from throughout the 8-county Detroit metro area in 1997-2000
• Mostly, they came from youth shelters, but also from out-patient and residential programs, and other sites

• Latent class analysis at baseline:
– 1. transient but connected ( n =55),
– 2. high-risk ( n =46), and
– 3. low-risk ( n =149)
• Longitudinal outcome differences:
– Low-risk showed the most stable housing over the 7-year follow-up period
– All groups largely housed by 6-7 years

Latent Class Analysis
High-
Dysfunctional
18%
18%
Transient, but connected
22%
Conduct Disorder
Depression
Alcohol Use
Drug Use
Number of living sites
Homeless in the past
30 days
Number of schools
Dropped out of school
Number of sexual partners
Abuse history
Days employed
Family cohesion
Self-efficacy

0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
1
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
6 Mo 12 Mo 18 Mo 4.5 Yrs 5.5 Yrs 6.5 Yrs
Time

• Need for empirical validation based on representative samples
• Typologies can be based on longitudinal outcomes rather than pre-existing characteristics
• Do certain subgroups do better in certain interventions?

• Homeless youth are heterogeneous
• Some youth will need intensive, longterm services (esp. street youth)
• Some may appear to be doing “OK,” but still are unstable with housing
• About half, with minimal attention, will do well, even in the short-term
• Need for family-based prevention & treatment programs

• McCaskill, P. A., Toro, P. A., & Wolfe, S. M. (1998). Homeless and matched housed adolescents: A comparative study of psychopathology. Journal of
Clinical Child Psychology, 27 , 306-319.
• Wolfe, S. M., Toro, P. A., & McCaskill, P. A. (1999). A comparison of homeless and matched housed adolescents on family environment variables. Journal of
Research on Adolescence, 9 , 53-66.
• Heinze, H., Toro, P.A., & Urberg, K. A. (2004). Antisocial behavior and affiliation with deviant peers. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent
Psychology, 33 , 336-346.
• Urberg, K., Goldstein, M., & Toro, P.A. (2005). Supportive relationships as a moderator of the effects of parent and peer drinking on adolescent drinking.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15 , 1-19.
• Fowler, P.J., Ahmed, S. R., Tompsett, C. J., Jozefowicz-Simbeni, D. M., & Toro,
P.A. (2008). Community violence and externalizing problems: Moderating effects of race and religiosity in emerging adulthood. Journal of Community
Psychology, 36 , 835-850.

• Tompsett, C.J., Fowler, P.J., & Toro, P.A. (2009). Age differences among homeless individuals: Adolescence through adulthood. Journal of Prevention and
Intervention in the Community , 37 , 86-99.
• Haber, M., & Toro, P.A. (2009). Parent-adolescent violence and later behavioral health problems among homeless and housed youth. American
Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79, 305-318.
• Tompsett, C.J., & Toro, P.A. (2010). Predicting overt and covert antisocial behaviors: parents, peers, and homelessness. Journal of Community
Psychology, 38, 469-485.
• Ahmed, S., Fowler, P.J., & Toro, P. A. (2011). Family, public and private religiousness and psychological well-being over time in at-risk adolescents.
Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 14 (4), 393-408.
• Toro, P.A., Lesperance, T.M., & Braciszewski, J.M. (2011, September). The heterogeneity of homeless youth in America: Examining typologies.
Homelessness, Washington, DC.
Research
Matters (pp.1-12), Homelessness Research Institute, National Alliance to End
• Hobden, K.L., Forney, J.C., Durham, K.W., & Toro, P.A. (2012, in press).
Limiting attrition in longitudinal research on homeless adolescents: What works best? Journal of Community Psychology.