What Does ‘Home’ Mean to Runaway Adolescents?: A Perception of the Placeness of ‘Home’ by a Late Adolescent Who Ran Away From Home in the Middle School Year

Long-term runaway adolescents often leave ‘home’ and may move from one shelter to another or be exposed to danger, living their lives without a true ‘home.’ The present study explores how late adolescents, who chronically ran away from home during their middle school years and have lived independently into their early twenties, perceive the placeness of ‘home.’ This discussion was deemed necessary to rigorously assess the conditions of runaway adolescents and to identify concrete directions for residential improvement and social welfare intervention. One participant was recruited for that purpose, and approximately 950 minutes of 11 impromptu narrative interviews were conducted. The participant’s life story was then reconstructed using the life history method proposed by Schütze (2016). Data analysis revealed 11 subcategories and four upper categories regarding the participant’s perception of ‘home’ as a place. These upper categories included: ‘A nest scarred by childhood domestic violence,’ ‘A temporary refuge found after moving between shelters,’ ‘Precarious and unsettled dwellings that are not home, no matter how desperately I fight each day,’ and ‘A humble personal sanctuary that comforted wounds, though unattractive to others.’ The central category that emerged was: ‘Home as the place where adolescence lagged behind and life had forsaken it, yet still the source of my existence and the roof that guarded me.’ Based on these findings, the study provides policy and practical recommendations to support the living environments of runaway adolescents and improve their quality of life. This research is academically significant in that it offers an opportunity to comprehend ‘home’ through the viewpoint of runaway adolescents and to explore effective support strategies.