The Experience of Emerging Adulthood Among Street-Involved Youth

Doug Magnuson is Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada in the School of Child and Youth Care. He studies professional practice in various different contexts, including child welfare, street-involved youth, group care, and youthwork in higher education. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in data analysis and research methods.Mikael Jansson is a Scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR). His current research uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand the lives of vulnerable populations, and he has a particular interest in panel data. He has lead research teams focused on youth, young adults, and workers in low-prestige occupations.Cecilia Benoit is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria and Scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. Her research examines the multiple dimensions of health inequities embedded in laws, policies, programs, and research agendas and searches for evidence-based solutions to these systemic problems.

• ForewordAcknowledgments 1. Introduction2. Street-Involved Youth Talk: The Risky Business Study3. Contribution and Complications of Instability in the Lives of Street-Involved Youth4. Self-Focus: Leaving Home and Becoming Street-Involved5. Self-Focus: Adjusting to the Streert6. Possibilities: Anticipating the Future7. NFA (No fixed address): Feeling--and Being--In Between8. Identity:"Not Being Who I Want To Be"9. The Implications for Policy and PracticeIndex

Based on a groundbreaking study of 64 street-involved youth followed for 10 years, this book explores their diverse paths, and provides a refreshing, hopeful perspective on their prospects for successful transitions to adulthood. Woven into their stories are clear directions for practices and policies that can assist street-involved youth to achieve stable and engaged futures.