Runaway youths in Singapore: Exploring demographics, motivations, and environments

This paper reports on an exploratory project that examined the phenomenon of runaway youths in Singapore, with a focus on understanding the perspectives of a small sample of runaway youths and their reasons for running away. Their home, family and educational environments, the resources they had while on the run, and personal feelings and attitudes were also areas of interest and discussion. Findings from the research include the fact that all the youths come from comparatively disadvantaged and dysfunctional family backgrounds, live in public housing, and lack success in school. The main 'push-pull' reasons for their running away from home without parents' permission or knowledge often stemmed from a strong desire to be with friends and enjoy more independence as well as experiencing a history of conflict, poor communication, and even, violence, with parents and siblings. However, in Singapore, the behavior seems to be both spontaneous, and relatively short-lived, taking place within a fairly safe and regulated social environment and related to adolescent turmoil and struggle for self-identity. Integrated community efforts would therefore be effective in preventing and remediating their problems before such behavior evolves into more serious and anti-social patterns of delinquency and deviance.