Psychological characteristics of a sample of male street prostitutes

Pm, Simon; Ev, Morse; Hj, Osofsky; Pm, Balson; Hr, Gaumer

doi:10.1007/bf01542715

Cited by 28 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Sex workers have significantly higher probabilities of exhibiting psychological distress than non-sex workers (El-Bassel et al, 1997) and are at greater risk of experiencing loneliness, isolation, and fear (Simon, Morse, & Osofsky, 1992). Drawing their sample from sex workers in South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and Zambia, Farley, Baral, Kiremire, and Sezgin (1998) found that two-thirds of the women surveyed met the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Silent Killers of the Night: An Exploration of Psychological Health and Suicidality among Female Street Sex Workers

Ling

Wong

Holroyd

et al. 2007

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

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This article examines factors that relate to psychological health (as measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument) as well as suicide attempts among female street sex workers (FSSWs) in Hong Kong. On average, our sampled FSSWs scored significantly lower on the psychological health domain in comparison to the general Hong Kong female population. Factors associated with the working environment in the sex industry were significantly associated with poor psychological health and suicidality. Greater attention is needed to examine the physical and emotional harm intrinsic to certain occupations and the role of financial needs in the experience of psychological stress.

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mentioning

confidence: 98%

Silent Killers of the Night: An Exploration of Psychological Health and Suicidality among Female Street Sex Workers

Ling

Wong

Holroyd

et al. 2007

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

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“…Independent and agency-based MSWs (i.e., escorts) exhibit fewer HIV risk behaviors with clients than men working on the street (Minichiello, Marino, Browne, Jamieson, Reuter, & Robinson, 2000;Simon, Morse, Osofsky, Balson, & Gaumer, 1992). Further, a growing body of research has suggested that indoor MSWs engage in less HIV risk behavior with clients than they do with non-client sexual partners (Joffe & Dockrell, 1995;Parsons, Koken, & Bimbi, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Behavior, Mental Health, Substance Use, and HIV Risk Among Agency-Based Male Escorts in a Small U.S. City

Smith

Seal

2008

International Journal of Sexual Health

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Relatively little research has examined the personal sex lives of indoor male sex workers (MSWs) or possible connections in this group between sexual behavior and factors related to HIV risk. As part of a larger project, this study collected data from 30 agency-based indoor MSWs (mean = 22.4 years) about their sexual behavior, mental health, and substance use. Few HIV risk behaviors with clients occurred. Drug use and mental health problems were relatively frequent, but not related to increased risk behavior. Instead, MSWs appeared to employ rational decision-making and harmreduction strategies. Conceptualization of MSW sexual behavior may be required where HIV risk is not attributed to sex work per se, but to other influences such as economic and relational factors. KeywordsSex work; prostitution; male sex worker; HIV risk behavior; HIV; mental health; substance use; sexual behavior During the past 20 years, much of the literature on the sexual behavior of male sex workers (MSWs) has focused on HIV risk behavior with clients. This line of study likely grew from concerns that MSWs may have been introducing HIV into the sexual networks of people who hired them (Bimbi, 2007). Thus, some researchers postulated that MSWs could be a transmission vector into less vulnerable populations (Morse, Simon, Osofsky, Balson, & Gaumer, 1991). Most of this initial research examined men working in a single type of venue, the street (Vanwesenbeeck, 2001). Street-based MSWs (i.e., hustlers) were found to exhibit relatively frequent sexual risk behaviors (Simon, Morse, Osofsky, & Balson, 1994), especially when they engaged in sex work to obtain basic needs or when they were using injection drugs (Estep, Waldorf, & Marotta, 1992). High rates of HIV risk also were found with non-clients due to unprotected sex and injection drugs (Rietmeijer, Wolitski, Fishbein, Corby, & Cohn, 1998). One study of street-based MSWs in Manhattan found that men reported the least sexual risk with paid clients, greater risk with male partners for pleasure, and the most risk with female partners for pleasure (Pleak & Meyer-Bahlburg, 1990). However, this study did not explore contextual factors accounting for the observed differences in sexual risk among these three types of partners.Address correspondence to: Michael Smith, PsyD, Psychology Department, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA 17870 (smithmichaeld@susqu.edu). NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptInt J Sex Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 September 23. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptSubsequent examination of MSWs who work in other settings has presented a more complex view. Independent and agency-based MSWs (i.e., escorts) exhibit fewer HIV risk behaviors with clients than men working on the street (Minichiello, Marino, Browne, Jamieson, Reuter, & Robinson, 2000;Simon, Morse, Osofsky, Balson, & Gaumer, 1992). Further, a growing body of research has suggested that indoor MSWs engage in less HIV risk behavior with clients than the...

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“…While the body of literature examining male prostitution has expanded, this subject area remains understudied (Simon et al, 1992;Brown and Minichiello, 1997). Most of what is known regarding commercial sex work has been derived from studies of female prostitution .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Most of what is known regarding commercial sex work has been derived from studies of female prostitution . However, what is known is that male CSWs are frequently examined in terms of their psychological (Simon et al, 1992) and psychosocial characteristics (Allen, 1980;Earls and David, 1989), demographic profiles (MacNamara, 1965;Coombs, 1974), injection drug use, (Rietmeijer et al, 1998;Jones et al, 1998; Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 1995); HIV risk and transmission Simon et al, 1993;Coutinho et al, 1988) and the social meanings behind male sex work (Brown andMinichiello, 1995, 1996). The various settings in which male prostitution occur have been examined, and the role they play in HIV infection have been investigated (De Graft et al, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Homelessness and hunger as HIV risk factors for African American male commercial sex workers

Stephens

Braithwaite

Lubin

et al. 2000

Journal of African American Men

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Psychological characteristics of a sample of male street prostitutes

Cited by 28 publications

References 6 publications

Silent Killers of the Night: An Exploration of Psychological Health and Suicidality among Female Street Sex Workers

Silent Killers of the Night: An Exploration of Psychological Health and Suicidality among Female Street Sex Workers

Sexual Behavior, Mental Health, Substance Use, and HIV Risk Among Agency-Based Male Escorts in a Small U.S. City

Homelessness and hunger as HIV risk factors for African American male commercial sex workers

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