IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v168y2025ics0190740924006042.html

The relationships between youth homelessness and offending: A systematic review of the UK literature

Author

Listed:
  • Self, Tara
  • Miles, Helen
  • Harding, Billy

Abstract

International research has demonstrated that homeless youth are more likely to engage in offending behaviours. This systematic review collates, synthesises, and appraises the academic and grey literature on UK studies reporting associations between youth homelessness and offending behaviours. MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, Social Policy and Practice, Social Care Online, OpenGrey and Google Scholar were searched from 1969 until May 2020. Twenty-two studies met inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that mental illness, having disrupted family relationships, substance misuse, trauma, being a care leaver and gang involvement influence the relationship between youth homeless and offending. Family mediation and supported accommodation were highlighted as useful interventions. It is recommended that local authority provision and accommodation options work in partnership and improve their offer for this population.

Suggested Citation

  • Self, Tara & Miles, Helen & Harding, Billy, 2025. "The relationships between youth homelessness and offending: A systematic review of the UK literature," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:168:y:2025:i:c:s0190740924006042
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.108032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740924006042
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.108032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anna Clarke, 2016. "The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 60-72.
    2. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    3. Baglivio, Michael T. & Wolff, Kevin T. & Piquero, Alex R. & Epps, Nathan, 2015. "The Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and Juvenile Offending Trajectories in a Juvenile Offender Sample," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 229-241.
    4. Martijn, Claudine & Sharpe, Louise, 2006. "Pathways to youth homelessness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 1-12, January.
    5. Black, Emma B. & Fedyszyn, Izabela E. & Mildred, Helen & Perkin, Rhianna & Lough, Richard & Brann, Peter & Ritter, Cheryl, 2018. "Homeless youth: Barriers and facilitators for service referrals," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 7-12.
    6. Naert, Jan & Roose, Rudi & Rapp, Richard C. & Vanderplasschen, Wouter, 2017. "Continuity of care in youth services: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 116-126.
    7. Bender, Kimberly & Yang, Jessica & Ferguson, Kristin & Thompson, Sanna, 2015. "Experiences and needs of homeless youth with a history of foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 222-231.
    8. Anna Clarke, 2016. "The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 60-72.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ji Yeon Lee & Ick-Joong Chung & Yoo jung Nam, 2026. "Gender Differences in Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 19(1), pages 35-85, February.
    2. Gunawardena, Nathali & Stich, Christine, 2021. "Interventions for young people aging out of the child welfare system: A systematic literature review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    3. Black, Emma B. & Fedyszyn, Izabela E. & Mildred, Helen & Perkin, Rhianna & Lough, Richard & Brann, Peter & Ritter, Cheryl, 2018. "Homeless youth: Barriers and facilitators for service referrals," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 7-12.
    4. Isobel Anderson & Masa Filipovic & Joe Finnerty, 2016. "Researching Homelessness: Challenging Exclusion?," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 1-4.
    5. Häggman-Laitila, Arja & Salokekkilä, Pirkko & Karki, Suyen, 2018. "Transition to adult life of young people leaving foster care: A qualitative systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 134-143.
    6. Zhen-Jie Wu & Yuan Lin & Jun Xiao & Liu-Cheng Wu & Jun-Gang Liu, 2014. "Clinical Significance of Colonoscopy in Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Polyps and Neoplasms: A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-8, March.
    7. Guian Zheng & Yuxin Li & Huishan Huang & Jinghan Wang & Atsushi Hirayama & Jinxiu Lin, 2015. "The Effect of Statin Therapy on Coronary Plaque Composition Using Virtual Histology Intravascular Ultrasound: A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-14, July.
    8. Fabio Alexis Rincón Uribe & Cristian Ariel Neira Espejo & Janari da Silva Pedroso, 2022. "The Role of Optimism in Adolescent Mental Health: A Systematic Review," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 815-845, February.
    9. Yucheon Kim & Songyi Lee, 2023. "A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Non-Face-to-Face Coaching," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-15, June.
    10. Blessing Charuka & Donatus Bapentire Angnuureng & Samuel K. M. Agblorti, 2023. "Contemporary Global Coastal Management Strategies and Coastal Infrastructure and Their Application in Ghana: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-23, August.
    11. Mohammed Ali Sharafuddin & Meena Madhavan, 2024. "Thematic Evolution of Blue Tourism: A Scientometric Analysis and Systematic Review," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 25(2), pages 533-554, April.
    12. İlkay Unay-Gailhard & Mark A. Brennen, 2022. "How digital communications contribute to shaping the career paths of youth: a review study focused on farming as a career option," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1491-1508, December.
    13. Karen Setty & Ryan Cronk & Shannan George & Darcy Anderson & Għanja O’Flaherty & Jamie Bartram, 2019. "Adapting Translational Research Methods to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-31, October.
    14. Mahin Ghafari & Vali Baigi & Zahra Cheraghi & Amin Doosti-Irani, 2016. "The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Iranian Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, June.
    15. Elizabeth T Cafiero-Fonseca & Andrew Stawasz & Sydney T Johnson & Reiko Sato & David E Bloom, 2017. "The full benefits of adult pneumococcal vaccination: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, October.
    16. Santos Urbina & Sofía Villatoro & Jesús Salinas, 2021. "Self-Regulated Learning and Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-12, June.
    17. Scott, Daniel & Gössling, Stefan, 2022. "A review of research into tourism and climate change - Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on tourism and climate change," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    18. Hassan Qudrat-Ullah, 2025. "A Thematic Review of AI and ML in Sustainable Energy Policies for Developing Nations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-26, April.
    19. Natalia Hernández-Segura & Alba Marcos-Delgado & Arrate Pinto-Carral & Tania Fernández-Villa & Antonio J. Molina, 2022. "Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) Instruments and Mobility: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-23, December.
    20. Oded Berger-Tal & Alison L Greggor & Biljana Macura & Carrie Ann Adams & Arden Blumenthal & Amos Bouskila & Ulrika Candolin & Carolina Doran & Esteban Fernández-Juricic & Kiyoko M Gotanda & Catherine , 2019. "Systematic reviews and maps as tools for applying behavioral ecology to management and policy," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 30(1), pages 1-8.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:168:y:2025:i:c:s0190740924006042. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.