Runaway adolescents' perceptions of parents and self

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between runaway behavior in adolescence and an adolescent's self-concept and antecedent parental treatment. The Cornell Parent Behavior Questionnaire and the Adjective Check List were used to assess 47 runaways and a matched group of non-runaways. Analyses of the data indicated: (a) runaway adolescents report more punishment and less support from their parents; (b) runaway girls report the most and runaway boys the least degrees of parental control; (c) runaways hold a less favorable self-concept, specifically on the dimensions of anxiety, self-doubt, poor interpersonal relationships, and defensiveness; (d) runaways also manifest, as an aspect of the self, a readiness for counseling.