Risk chains over the life course among homeless urban adolescent mothers: Altering their trajectories through formal support Angie C. Kennedy ⁎, DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga, Natalie Kasiborski, Jessica Gladden Michigan State University, School of Social Work, 254 Baker Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States abstract article info Article history: Received 29 April 2010 Received in revised form 27 July 2010 Accepted 28 July 2010 Available online 5 August 2010 Keywords: Risk chains Homeless adolescent mothers Qualitative Life course Formal support This qualitative study uses life course theory along with risk and resilience as a foundation from which to examine the life histories of 14 adolescent mothers recruited from an urban homeless shelter. Semi-structured individual interviews focused on exploring experiences with violence and adversity, adaptations and coping in response, and sources of support; we analyzed the data using a grounded theory approach involving open, axial, and selective coding. The key storyline that emerged is risk chains over the life course, including lack of family support and a turning point at early adolescence. Participants' adaptations to violence influenced their identity development, and formal support from the shelter staff facilitated critical protective processes as the young women transitioned to adulthood. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Adolescents appear to be at increased risk of homelessness in comparison to adults (Haber & Toro, 2004), with an estimated 5–7% of youths experiencing at least one night of homelessness each year (Ringwalt, Greene, Robertson & McPheeters, 1998). Adolescents who are on their own and have no place to stay may be “house hopping,” living on the streets, or staying in a shelter (Vissing & Diament, 1997). For many female youths and young adults who are homeless, their lives may be further complicated by pregnancy and childbearing: Several studies have documented that approximately half of these young women report a current or prior pregnancy (Greene & Ringwalt, 1998; Halcón & Lifson, 2004; Haley, Roy, Leclerc, Boudreau, & Boivin, 2004). A large body of work indicates that many homeless young people have histories of family violence exposure, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, and witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV) (Kennedy, 2007; Taylor et al., 2008; Tyler & Cauce, 2002). These experiences with violence, coupled with the stress of homelessness itself, are associated with higher rates of mental health problems such as mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidality, when compared with demographically similar youths (Haber & Toro, 2004). Further, adolescents and young adults who become homeless face amplified risk of re-victimization, as they are exposed to dangerous settings, situations, and peers (Whitbeck, Hoyt, & Yoder, 1999). In searching for the precipitating causes of youth homelessness, most research has focused on different forms of family violence and dysfunction, with an emphasis on cataloguing and describing significant antecedents (e.g., Yoder, Whitbeck, & Hoyt, 2001). Though this work has yielded important findings, it is limited in terms of its predominating focus on family violence and its lack of attention to the dynamics of multiple interacting factors over time in the lives of homeless youths. The current qualitative study uses a life course approach to explore chains of risk (including victimization as well as other forms of adversity such as poverty, parental loss, and child welfare system involvement) over childhood and adolescence within the lives of a small sample of homeless urban adolescent mothers, all of whom were either residing in a shelter or had recently completed the shelter program and were living indepen- dently (Elder, Johnson, & Crosnoe, 2004). With life course theory as the foundation, complemented by risk and resilience research, we can gain an understanding of the multiple risk factors that were linked together over time and led to their experiencing homelessness (O'Rand, 2002). Additionally, this approach allows us to conceptualize the formal support services provided by the shelter staff as facilitating critical protective processes among participants, which were associated with an alteration of their trajectories—or a turning point—for most of the young women (Rutter, 1987). As the field moves toward adopting evidence-based interventions for homeless youths (Slesnick, Dashora, Letcher, Erdem, & Serovich, 2009), life course theory in conjunction with risk and resilience offers a promising theoretical framework that can inform service delivery as well as intervention development and evaluation. 1.1. Theoretical foundation: Life course theory, cumulative adversity, and risk and resilience Developed as an approach to examining people's changing lives within historical, economic, and social context, life course theory is Children and Youth Services Review 32 (2010) 1740–1749 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1 517 432 3724; fax: + 1 517 353 3038. E-mail addresses: kenne258@msu.edu (A.C. Kennedy), agbenyi1@msu.edu (D.L. Agbényiga), potthoff@msu.edu (N. Kasiborski), gladdenj@msu.edu (J. Gladden). 0190-7409/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.07.018 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Children and Youth Services Review journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth