Through the current study I explored the processes of goal development and attainment among homeless adolescents using a competence-focused approach, focusing specifically on homeless youth's life planning skills. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 youth between the ages of 17 and 20 staying at shelters for unaccompanied homeless youth in Chicago.

The emphasis on contextual influences on adolescent development and the use of a grounded theory methodology allowed for a portrait of homeless youth that varies from the misbehaved and delinquent image of homeless youth that is most commonly found on the literature.

Specifically, findings from this study demonstrated that homeless youth develop goals and plans to attain them. Participants' goals were organized around education, career, housing and family. Importantly, this study highlighted the parallel process of their development to their non-homeless counterparts on whom normative developmental data and theory tend to be based. Furthermore, findings on the nature of their goals and plans furthermore showed youth's adaptability in the homeless circumstance.

The current study, including the theory of goal development that was developed, puts homeless youth on the map in a different way. Theoretical findings and the demonstrated advantages of the grounded theory approach thus provide a head start in filling out the portrait of these youth further.