40.4 A Descriptive Report on Internet Access Points from Smartphones of Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Abstract

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) have a variety of challenges. Access to the internet is an important tool for youth to keep connected to others and to access service. This study aims to examine the use of smartphones among YEH. The study uses a sample of 35 youth between the ages of 18 and 24 years recruited through a network of shelters in Chicago. The preliminary data from this study have been published. Substance use was assessed using a subset of the 2011 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9]) and PTSD (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 [PCL-5]) were measured at enrollment and at 1 month. Trauma exposure was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ). As part of this study, participants received a mobile phone with an activated data and service plan. This report uses data that were extracted passively from smartphones of the participants using Purple Robot. This was done with consent from participants. From a dataset containing several thousand data points, we extracted a random subsample of 2000 data points detailing smartphone geospatial data. Trained coders (SHD and DK) reviewed the Service Set Identifier (SSID) labels for each extracted data point and coded these into larger categories (ie, hotel, coffee shop, restaurant, library) according to a rubric developed by the team. Results for this study are pending. The participants had an average age of 19.06 years (SD = 0.85). Most of the participants were women (23/35, 65%), with 31% (11/35) men and 1 transgender participant (1/35, 3%). Participants were predominantly African American (23/35, 66%), 9% White (3/35), 17% mixed race (6/35), 3% other (1/35), and 6% either refused or did not know (2/35). In addition, 20% of the sample reported being Hispanic (7/35). The demographics of these YEH are reflective of national trends, which show disproportionate ethnic minorities and LQBTQ or questioning YEH. We plan to report on the location categories that YEH access the internet and examine correlates with psychological experiences of substance use, depression, and trauma. Smartphones will allow us to assess what future potential programs are needed to make mental health and substance use resources more readily available and accessible to YEH by studying the patterns and needs of this population.