| New, overarching theme | Extracted themes and subthemes with citations |
| Physical needs | The homeless teenage need for safety Survival and identity experimentation Caring for self: |
| Safety | Displacement and disconnection in dangerous places The homeless teenage need for safety: Initial risk: Family violence There is a home: Extinction of the self There is no home: Vulnerability and being different Youth violence: Rape, rage, retaliation Youth violence: Escalation Dangerous/desperate pathways Learning from experience Childhood victimization and lessons learned Struggling with the cycle of violence |
| Belonging | Negotiating spaces of belonging Tenuous connections amid spaces of hope The homeless teenage need to belong Youth resources: Connectedness Creating new affiliations Outside the home: School and friends and Helping professionals There is no home: Vulnerability and being different There is a home: The ideal home; The actual home as a prison; The home as a women’s prison Divine intervention Role of prayer Participation in traditional and non-traditional religious practices Youth supports and advocacy: Counselling services |
| Acceptance | The homeless teenage need for self-actualization Youth resources: Identity The home: Mother, father, and siblings; The extended family; and The girl And still there is a home Personal relationship with God or a higher power Finding meaning and purpose in life Meaning and purpose to life |