TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Social connectedness, self-efficacy, and mental health outcomes among homeless youth: prioritizing approaches to service provision in a time of limited agency resources
JO  - Youth and society
A1  - Begun, Stephanie
A1  - Bender, Kimberly A.
A1  - Brown, Samantha M.
A1  - Barman-Adhikari, Anamika
A1  - Ferguson, Kristin
SP  - 989
EP  - 1014
VL  - 50
IS  - 7
N2  - Homeless youth frequently meet diagnosis criteria for depressive and/or substance use disorder(s). Although prior research has established that both social connectedness and self-efficacy buffer vulnerable youth's adverse health outcomes, few studies have compared the potential of these protective factors on homeless youth's mental well-being. The current study analyzes comparative effects of social connectedness and self-efficacy on meeting criteria for major depressive disorder, substance use disorder, and the co-occurrence of both disorders among a sample of 601 service-seeking homeless youth in Austin, Denver, and Los Angeles. Hierarchical logistic regressions indicate that while both social connectedness and self-efficacy constructs are valuable protective factors, social connectedness may offer greater utility, particularly in buffering against more complex mental health outcomes, such as the co-occurrence of depressive and substance use disorders. Accordingly, resource-strapped homeless youth service providers and researchers may benefit from tailoring mental health intervention strategies to further emphasize social connectedness in future efforts.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0044-118X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0044118X16650459
ID  - ref1
ER  -