142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Exploring the Mediating Role of Network Risk Factors on the Relationship between Foster Care Experience and Methamphetamine Use

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 11:10 AM - 11:30 AM

Amanda Yoshioka-Maxwell, MSW , School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Eric Rice, PhD , School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Harmony Rhoades, PhD , School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Hailey Winetrobe, MPH, CHES , School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Objective: Emancipated foster youth experience high rates of methamphetamine use and homelessness. Current research has failed to understand why homeless youth with foster care experience engage in methamphetamine use at higher rates compared to other homeless young adults. This study aims to examine the impact of network characteristics on recent methamphetamine use among homeless former foster youth in Los Angeles.

Method: The YouthNet data set was used for this analysis, comprised of a community-based sample of 652 homeless youth ages 13-25 from two drop-in centers in Hollywood and Santa Monica, CA. A path analysis was run to examine the mediating effect of time homeless and network characteristics on the relationship between foster care experience and recent methamphetamine use.

Results:Controlling for all other variables, results of the path analysis indicated that significant effects exist between foster care experience and recent individual meth use only when network meth use and time homeless mediated this relationship.

Discussion: These findings add to the literature on substance use among both homeless young adults and former foster youth, suggesting the key to successful interventions target network influences time spent homeless. Results indicated that foster care experience signficiantly impacted recent methamphetamine use only through the inclusion of network drug use behaviors and an accounting of time homeless. Furthermore the effect of network drug risk behaviors and time spent homeless differently impact homeless youth with and without a history of foster care, necessitating a unique intervention approach for each of these subpopulations.

Learning Areas:

Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Identify correlates of increased methamphetamine use among former foster youth. Identify network characteristics that impact methamphetamine use among the sample of homeless youth. Compare the effect of network characteristics on drug risk behaviors for homeless youth with and without a history of foster care placement.

Keyword(s): Drug Abuse, Homelessness

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As a doctoral student, I have spent the last year completing analyses of the data used in this analysis, under the supervision of the PI of the study. Among my interests has been the role of network characteristics the substance use patterns of homeless young adults.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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