Predicting elopement from residential treatment centers.

To identify predictors of elopement in young patients in residential treatment, runaways were compared with a matched sample of nonrunaways. Runaways were more likely to have a history of elopement, a suspected history of sexual abuse, an affective disorder diagnosis, and parents whose rights had been terminated. The results suggested that the likelihood of elopement can be accurately predicted on the basis of patient characteristics known at admission.