Coming of age on the streets: survival sex among homeless young women in Hollywood.
This study examined childhood physical or sexual abuse, involvement in dependency or delinquency systems, psychiatric hospitalization, and suicide as possible risk factors for survival sex among homeless young women. Homeless young women were found to have similarly high rates of childhood sexual abuse, dependency and delinquency systems involvement, and psychiatric hospitalization. Homeless young women involved in survival sex disclosed higher rates of attempted suicide and reported marginally higher rates of childhood physical abuse. Analysis of qualitative data showed that those engaged in survival sex were motivated primarily by desperation to meet basic needs including a place to stay, food and money, and one third mentioned that peers commonly were influential in decisions to engage in survival sex. Others were influenced by coercion (10%) or pursuit of drugs (10%). Young women engaged in survival sex generally experienced regret and shame about their experience.
Division of Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, USA. Electronic address: cwarf@cw.bc.ca.
Curren W
CW
Warf
Leslie F
LF
Clark
Mona
M
Desai
Susan J
SJ
Rabinovitz
Golnaz
G
Agahi
Richard
R
Calvo
Jenny
J
Hoffmann
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012752:Shame; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013534:Survival; D055815:Young Adult
Adolescent behavior; Child abuse; Homeless children; Homeless youth; Prostitution; Sexual; Survival sex