title: The Unanticipated Benefits of Behavioral Assessments and Interviews on Anxiety, Self-Esteem and Depression Among Women Engaging in Transactional Sex.
abstract: Women engaging in transactional sex have disproportional mental health co-morbidity and face substantial barriers to accessing social services. We hypothesized that participation in a longitudinal research study, with no overt intervention, would lead to short-term mental health improvements. For 4-weeks, 24 women disclosed information about their lives via twice daily cell-phone diaries and weekly interviews. We used t tests to compare self-esteem, anxiety, and depression at baseline and exit. Tests were repeated for hypothesized effect modifiers (e.g., substance abuse severity; age of sex work debut). For particularly vulnerable women (e.g., less educated, histories of abuse, younger initiation of sex work) participation in research conferred unanticipated mental health benefits. Positive interactions with researchers, as well as discussing lived experiences, may explain these effects. Additional studies are needed to confirm findings and identify mechanisms of change. This work contributes to the growing body of literature documenting that study participation improves mental health.
authors.affiliation: Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Jayleen K L
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Gunn
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Prevention, Drexel School of Public Health, 3215 Market Street, Room 435, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. alexisroth@drexel.edu.
authors.forename: Alexis M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Center
authors.affiliation: Division of Children's Health Services Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Wiehe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012649:Self Concept; D011477:Sex Work / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Anxiety; Cell phones; Depression; Self-esteem; Sex worker