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The many factors that contribute to or precipitate the running away of young patients are described dynamically in terms of the patients' intrapsychic conflicts, the situation at the residence, and the attitude of the staff. Running away is not necessarily a manifestation of pathology, 'sick behavior', or 'acting out'. It is sometimes adaptive, an escape from closeness, often a 'running to' or an assertion of independence. In one case it heralded the beginning of a therapeutic alliance when the patient volunteered to return. Group dynamics are also important, particularly when there is an epidemic of runaway behavior or when youngsters run away in pairs.
The author distinguishes between treatment needs and developmental needs, which are not always compatible. The response of the staff to runaway behavior is examined in the light of the psychiatrist's fear of abandonment and the mobilization of aggression within himself. This paper will be of particular interest to analysts because the problems examined pertain also to nonresidential analytic patients who flee from (or to) in the course of their treatment.