Transactional sexual activity among university students: Prevalence and clinical correlates

Blum, Austin W.; Lust, Katherine; Christenson, Gary A.; Odlaug, Brian L.; Redden, Sarah A.; Grant, Jon E.

doi:10.1080/19317611.2018.1491922

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Edwards (2017) revealed in an empirical analysis that female and male university students providing sexual services for material compensation showed higher levels of impulsive-antisocial traits (impulsivity, irresponsibility, sensation seeking) than those who did not engage in such activity. These findings are in line with those reported by Blum et al (2018), who found that university students' involvement in transactional sex was associated with high-risk sexual behavior and certain mental problems. Those willing to have sex for compensation showed higher levels of impulsivity, compulsive sexual behavior, anxiety and traumatization, and lower self-esteem.…”

Section: Study 2 Introductionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The aim of Study 2 was to test the expected associations between the acceptance of sugar relationships and socially aversive personality traits (e.g., Brody et al, 2005;Brody and Potterat, 2010;Tull et al, 2011;Edwards, 2017;Blum et al, 2018) and to replicate the previously obtained sex difference in the attitude toward sugar relationship (e.g., Schmitt, 1993, 2019;Gangestad and Simpson, 2000;Walter et al, 2020). In addition, we also expected to be able to confirm the unidimensional structure of the ASR-YWMS explored in Study 1.…”

Section: Aims Of Studymentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Betzer et al (2015) assessed a large number of university students and found that those engaging in transactional sex (i.e., sex work) received significantly less financial support from their families, used drugs more frequently (e.g., cocaine), and scored lower on the Agreeableness subscale of the Big Five Inventory than other participants. Other findings also revealed socially undesirable personality traits in university students involved in transactional sex (e.g., Edwards, 2017;Blum et al, 2018). Furthermore, studies conducted in economically developed East Asian countries highlight the importance of a materialistic worldview as a possible explanation for many young women's willingness to provide sexual services to older men in exchange for material compensation (e.g., Cheung et al, 2016;Song and Morash, 2016;Krisch et al, 2019).…”

Section: Sugar Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Providing Sexual Companionship for Resources: Development, Validation, and Personality Correlates of the Acceptance of Sugar Relationships in Young Women and Men Scale (ASR-YWMS)

et al. 2020

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A sugar relationship is a transactional sexual relationship in which a younger partner (sugar baby/boy) offers companionship and sexual services to a much older partner (sugar daddy/mommy) in return for material compensation. One aim of the present study was to develop an attitude scale assessing young women's and men's acceptance of sugar relationships. Another aim was to explore the possible associations of the acceptance of sugar relationships with psychological functioning in an intimate partner relationship and in a sexual relationship and with certain socially undesirable personality traits. Two online studies were conducted with a total number of 2052 participants (1879 women; age = 18-28 years). The results show that the Acceptance of Sugar Relationships in Young Women and Men Scale (ASR-YWMS) is a reliable and valid measure of young people's attitude toward sugar relationships. The studies revealed that young women's and men's accepting attitude toward sugar relationships was positively associated with unrestricted sociosexuality, a game-playing love style (Ludus), selffocused sexual motivation (Study 1; N = 319; 272 women and 47 men), and with socially undesirable traits such as Machiavellianism, subclinical psychopathy, and a borderline personality organization (Study 2; N = 1733; 1607 women and 126 men). These findings suggest that a relatively high level of acceptance of sugar relationships is part of a mating strategy focused on opportunities of maximizing resources. This utilitarian, risktaking and exploitative attitude is characteristic to a fast life history strategy, and it is a fundamental organizing principle of psychological and sexual functioning in intimate partner relationships.

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Section: Study 2 Introductionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Aims Of Studymentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Sugar Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Providing Sexual Companionship for Resources: Development, Validation, and Personality Correlates of the Acceptance of Sugar Relationships in Young Women and Men Scale (ASR-YWMS)

et al. 2020

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“…Research on transactional sex among young people is relatively scarce in Western countries (4) and often related to trading sex specifically for money (5,6), drugs (7) or both (8)(9)(10). It is also often limited to specific populations such as university students (11), youths in foster care (6), homeless youths (12) or youths seeking testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI) (13).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Youth engaging in transactional sex are especially vulnerable because they are more exposed to health risks such as STIs (4,8,11), physical or sexual abuse (4,20), substance abuse (4,8), or psychological problems (4,11,20). However, primary care physicians rarely ask their patients about it and the prevalence in Switzerland is unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transactional sex among young people in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study

Surı́s

Stadelmann²,

Auderset³

et al. 2021

Sex. Health

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BackgroundThe aim of this research was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of youths having ever exchanged sex and to assess if there were differences depending on whether they had done it once or several times. We also investigated what they exchanged sex for and their relationship with the last person they did it with.MethodsA cross-sectional national survey was carried out in Switzerland in 2017 among young adults. The 5175 participants (51% males, mean age 26.3years) who answered the question ‘Have you ever received something or obtained an advantage in exchange for a sexual act?’ were divided into three groups: Never (96.8%), Once (1.5%) and Several (1.7%).ResultsIn the multivariate analysis, compared to the Never group, those in the Once group were significantly more likely to be males, to have a poor mental health, to be non-exclusively heterosexual and to have had 10+ lifetime sexual partners. Those in the Several group reported the same characteristics, but were also more likely to be younger at first sexual contact, to have their parents not living together, to report a lower socioeconomic status and a history of sexual abuse, and to have ever sent sexual images/videos of themselves. They were also less satisfied with their financial situation.ConclusionsResults indicate that transactional sex is a reality for some youths in Switzerland, and health professionals dealing with them should include this question in their sexual anamnesis. From a public health perspective, sexual education and prevention campaigns should include this phenomenon.

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An Exploratory Investigation of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Other Theory-Driven Predictors of Sex Work Among Women with and without Childhood ADHD

Halkett

O’Grady

Hinshaw

2022

Journ Child Adol Trauma

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Limited research has identified prospective risk factors for young-adult sex work or examined overlapping predictors concurrently. We investigated childhood sexual abuse (CSA), along with other theory-driven predictors of sex work, among a well-characterized sample of girls with and without childhood diagnoses of attention/deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Participants were a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of 140 girls with rigorously diagnosed ADHD (47 Inattentive [ADHD-I], 93 Combined [ADHD-C]), and 88 age-and ethnicity-matched comparison girls, all followed longitudinally into adulthood. Self-report data on young-adult occupations revealed a subsample of 7 participants reporting engagement in "sex work" or "prostitution." Logistic regressions tested whether CSA, measured both dichotomously and by discrete age ranges, predicted later sex work, accounting for other risk factors. Results: A lifetime history of CSA was positively associated with sex work in initial analyses (β = 1.51, p = .045), but not after adjusting for additional risk factors. When examined by age ranges, only CSA occurring between ages 9-15 significantly predicted sex work (β = 2.84, p = .043), even after adjusting for additional risk factors. Childhood ADHD-C also emerged as a significant predictor (β = 4.94, p = .015). ADHD-related medication and years of education were protective factors only when CSA was considered dichotomously. Conclusions: Findings from this exploratory study underscore the need for longitudinal research that (a) considers the developmental timing of CSA and (b) accounts for impulsivity and inattention as risk factors for sex work among young-adult women. Implications for clinical practice are briefly discussed.

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Transactional sexual activity among university students: Prevalence and clinical correlates

Cited by 12 publications

References 34 publications

Providing Sexual Companionship for Resources: Development, Validation, and Personality Correlates of the Acceptance of Sugar Relationships in Young Women and Men Scale (ASR-YWMS)

Providing Sexual Companionship for Resources: Development, Validation, and Personality Correlates of the Acceptance of Sugar Relationships in Young Women and Men Scale (ASR-YWMS)

Transactional sex among young people in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study

An Exploratory Investigation of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Other Theory-Driven Predictors of Sex Work Among Women with and without Childhood ADHD

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