Risk Factor Patterns in Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Relationships

The Influence of Victims’ Unmet Basic Needs as a Mediator in Trafficking Relationships: A Research Note

“…As stated in the literature review, researchers have identified risk factors like child welfare involvement, juvenile justice involvement, membership in a racial minority group, substance use, unmet basic needs, a chaotic home life, and psychiatric concerns as potentially predictive of DMST (see Twis, 2019). As the purpose of this study is to explore the mediating effect of unmet basic needs on the pathway between known DMST risk factors and victim–trafficker relationship types, the author sought to include as many of these risk factors in the present study as possible.…”

“…The mediating effect of unmet basic needs on the path between child welfare and juvenile justice involvement and victim–trafficker relationship. For additional methodological information, see Twis 2019.…”

“…One pressing area of prevention research is the exploration of the circumstances or risk factors that may predict whether a DMST victim is trafficked by a family member, friend, romantic partner, or stranger. Such research may assist antitrafficking advocates with developing targeted prevention strategies, but with the exception of a handful of empirical studies (see Twis, 2019; Marcus, Horning, Curtis, Sanson, & Thompson, 2014), questions about the prediction of specific victim–trafficker relationship types are unexplored within the literature.…”

“…Based upon the totality of human trafficking literature, it is reasonable to hypothesize that adolescents’ unmet basic needs may be a predictor or a mediating influence on DMST, as well. Moreover, unmet basic needs may be the unspoken thread between other DMST risk factors, like racism, child welfare involvement, juvenile justice involvement, and more (see Twis, 2019; Chohaney, 2016; Choi, 2015). By analyzing a coded set of 242 archival DMST case note files, this brief research note seeks to explore the following question:…”

“…Based upon a review of the literature on DMST risk factors, social work researchers should pay close attention to risks like juvenile justice involvement (Chohaney, 2016; Godsoe, 2015), child welfare (i.e., child protective services [CPS]) involvement (Cavazos, 2016; Countryman-Roswurm & Bolin, 2014; Reid, 2010), substance use or abuse and other mental health concerns (Reid & Piquero, 2014), and minority race (Butler, 2015; Choi, 2015; Ocen, 2015; Perkins & Ruiz, 2017) in trying to understand and develop DMST prevention strategies. Perhaps more than any other risk factor, however, a cumulation of the literature suggests that victims’ unmet basic needs are extremely important for understanding adolescents’ DMST risk as the available literature suggests that victims’ “unmet basic needs” is the risk factor that ties all of the other risk factors to one another (see Twis, 2019). (Of note, this study conceptualizes “unmet basic needs” as victims’ lack of access to a vital, basic human need like shelter or food; see Maslow, 1943).…”