Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and mental health in women who escaped prostitution and helping activists in shelters.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared the mental symptoms, especially symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of women who escaped prostitution, helping activists at shelters, and matched control subjects.


METHODS
We assessed 113 female ex-prostitutes who had been living at a shelter, 81 helping activists, and 65 control subjects using self-reporting questionnaires on demographic data, symptoms related to trauma and PTSD, stress-related reactions, and other mental health factors.


RESULTS
Female ex-prostitutes had significantly higher stress response, somatization, depression, fatigue, frustration, sleep, smoking and alcohol problems, and more frequent and serious PTSD symptoms than the other 2 groups. Helping activists also had significantly higher tension, sleep and smoking problems, and more frequent and serious PTSD symptoms than control subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings show that engagement in prostitution may increase the risks of exposure to violence, which may psychologically traumatize not only the prostitutes themselves but also the people who help them, and that the effects of the trauma last for a long time. Future research is needed to develop a method to assess specific factors that may contribute to vicarious trauma of prostitution, and protect field workers of prostitute victims from vicarious trauma.
Jung
Young-Eun
YE
Department of Psychiatry, The Catholic University of Korea, 62 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 150-713, Korea.
Song
Jeong-Min
JM
Chong
Jihye
J
Seo
Ho-Jun
HJ
Chae
Jeong-Ho
JH
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D011477:Sex Work / Q000523:psychology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D012947:Social Work; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires