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In and Out of Harm's Way: Violent Victimization and the Social Capital of Fictive Street Families

NCJ Number
198024
Journal
Criminology Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2002 Pages: 831-866
Author(s)
Bill McCarthy; John Hagan; Monica J. Martin
Date Published
November 2002
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether the "street families" developed by homeless youth, associations that resemble the "fictive kin" interactions common among people who have limited resources, contribute to social capital that affords protection for homeless youth from violent victimization.
Abstract
Social capital involves two intertwined components: relationships and the intangible resources of trust, reciprocity, information, commitments, and solidarity. Although relationships are necessary for the production and accumulation of social capital, they are not in themselves capital, nor are the resources they engender. Social capital is created when the relations among persons change in ways that facilitate action. Research has supplied few insights into the social-capital potential of connections among people separated from their biological families, indigenous communities, and conventional social institutions. The current study is designed to help fill this research gap by examining the development of social capital among homeless youth. The data used for this analysis were from a 1992 study of homeless youth in two Canadian cities (Toronto and Vancouver). After advertising the study in social service agencies, a team of researchers spent a week in agencies and at downtown street locations, inviting all homeless youth they encountered to take part in the study. In the first wave of the study, respondents provided information on various topics, including street relationships, violent victimization, and offending. Respondents were recontacted 1 and 2 months later for the second and third waves of the study. Information on "street families" and other street groups were analyzed to distinguish the social capital available to homeless youth. Based on the findings, the authors argue that the street family associations of the homeless youth resemble the "fictive kin" described in studies of inner-city life and imprisonment. Like conventional families, these "fictive" street families may generate social capital resources that provide greater access to an array of valued outcomes, including protection from physical harm. Regression analyses of violent victimization reported by the homeless youth support the hypothesis that fictive street families kept youth out of harm's way more than did other street associations. 7 tables and 77 references

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