CROSSING THE threshold from adolescence into adulthood is a giant step for teens. Running away from home, reasons a group of teenagers, is "an attempted escape from that period in your life".

According to the teens, the need for greater freedom, social connection, financial independence, all added to the anxiety to excel academically, is burdensome.

At home, there is conflict. "They (our parents) do not understand us; they want us to be perfect," says 16-year-old Trevone Walcott.

At school, it is peer pressure. "You want to be like the others, and it's important to belong," Soraya Darwood, also 16, adds.

The other side of the coin, suggests 15-year-old Nalia Rose, is that many teenagers, "some of whom I know, are facing sexual and emotional abuse at home. When they can't take the problems anymore, they run away. But, when they see that life out there is not better or worse, they return home."

Living 'back in the day'

Walcott, who "likes to speak her mind", attributes some of the problems to her perception that many parents are living "back in the day", and the generation gap creates a chasm in the parent-child relationship.

"They don't seem to understand that we are more advanced and need certain things. They grew up not using these, so they cannot see how important more technology is to us," she says.

"Sexual pleasure, the desire for it!" is an outburst Rajey Rhoden was not embarrassed to make. "This is a real problem for teens. We have feelings, even when you are not thinking about it. I try to push it away, and listen to some music, or find something else to do," shares the 16-year-old.

Janielle Spooner almost made the headlines. She had plans to run away with two friends.

Unfair to my parents

"It was all set, but I changed my mind out of fear. I was not sure of my welfare out there, and I thought it would be unfair to put my parents and the entire complex under so much stress," said 17-year-old Spooner, who says this happened earlier in her teen years.

Ninety per cent of the teens with whom The Sunday Gleaner spoke said they knew of at least one teen who had taken "a break from home".

Spooner says her best friend went away for an extended period with her boyfriend because her parents did not approve of the relationship.

"He stole his father's car and they were all over the south coast. The police eventually found them in Westmoreland. The girl was sent to counselling," Spooner relates.

Walcott sums up a number of issues facing her peers who belong to the lower-income strata of society.

"Many are faced with the extra burden of caring for younger siblings. Some are told to go out and help themselves, some are being abused, and others simply do it to get attention."

According to gender consultant Dr Glenda Simms, in order to understand and deal with the phenomenon of children who run away from home and voluntarily return, the push-and-pull factors must be taken into account.

She identifies the push factors as: