The Mediating Role Of Motivations For Sex In The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse And Sexual Health Outcomes Among Homeless Youth In Canada

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA), which is disproportionately common among homeless youth, is associated with adverse sexual health outcomes. However, there is a lack of data as to how CSA is related to adverse sexual health outcomes among homeless youth. The current study examined motivations for sex as mediators in the relationships between CSA and 1)sexual risk behaviours and 2)sexual functioning among homeless youth. 179 youth (ages 16-21) completed measures examining CSA, motivations for sex, and sexual health outcomes. CSA was associated with earlier age of first intercourse among females and involvement in sex trading among males. CSA was also associated with motivations to have sex for partner approval and coping. Sex for partner approval mediated the relationship between CSA and age of first intercourse among females. This study highlights the importance of targeting motivations in the reduction of adverse sexual health outcomes among homeless youth in Canada.

The Mediating Role Of Motivations For Sex In The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse And Sexual Health Outcomes Among Homeless Youth In Canada

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA), which is disproportionately common among homeless youth, is associated with adverse sexual health outcomes. However, there is a lack of data as to how CSA is related to adverse sexual health outcomes among homeless youth. The current study examined motivations for sex as mediators in the relationships between CSA and 1)sexual risk behaviours and 2)sexual functioning among homeless youth. 179 youth (ages 16-21) completed measures examining CSA, motivations for sex, and sexual health outcomes. CSA was associated with earlier age of first intercourse among females and involvement in sex trading among males. CSA was also associated with motivations to have sex for partner approval and coping. Sex for partner approval mediated the relationship between CSA and age of first intercourse among females. This study highlights the importance of targeting motivations in the reduction of adverse sexual health outcomes among homeless youth in Canada.

Motivational interviewing with individuals at risk of sex trafficking

Summary Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based practice designed to collaboratively strengthen a person’s commitment to change. Used in a wide variety of practice settings, motivational interviewing is recommended for use with individuals who are at risk of sex trafficking when discussing sex trading or relationships with potential traffickers. However, little is known about the uses of motivational interviewing with this population in practice. The current study examined whether and how social workers who encounter individuals at risk of sex trafficking use motivational interviewing. We explored perceptions of motivational interviewing use, applicability, and engagement practices by conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 24 hour service providers in a Midwest region. Findings Practitioners discussed a wide variety of perceptions of motivational interviewing, ranging from completely unfamiliar, to inapplicable to their service population, to favoring its use. Those who did implement motivational interviewing described challenges to engagement with this population and provided examples in which they did not validate the clients’ perceived benefits of situations that enhanced their risk, a principal tenant of motivational interviewing. Such actions may have contributed to practitioner-client discord and ultimately reduced clients’ engagement. Applications Providers who encounter sex trafficking in practice should be trained in the use of motivational interviewing and applicability, specifically regarding how to validate the client’s internal arguments for and against sex trading and related behaviors. Future research should continue to understand whether and how motivational interviewing can be adapted for transient populations, and continue testing the efficacy of motivational interviewing with these populations.

Prevalence and Factors Associated With Sex Trading Among High-Risk Substance-Involved Women Under Community Supervision in New York City

This article examines the prevalence of and factors associated with sex trading among a high-risk sample of 337 substance-involved women in community corrections enrolled in an HIV risk reduction study in New York City, using baseline data. Forty percent of the sample reported trading sex for money, food, drugs, or other resources in the prior 90 days. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed significant associations among age, ethnic minority status, marital status, prior mental health hospitalization, binge drinking, and having recently been in jail/prison and sex trading ( p < .05). Women who reported that both they and their partner recently (past 90 days) used crack/cocaine or that their partner recently used crack/cocaine were more likely to report sex trading than women who reported that neither they nor their partner recently used crack/cocaine ( p < .05). Study findings underscore an urgent need for multipronged intervention efforts that simultaneously address multilevel risk exposures.

How Adult Women Who Trade Sex Navigate Social Services: A Grounded Theory Study

Access to and engagement with social services among women who trade sex is essential to address issues including substance use, posttraumatic stress disorder, and housing instability. This grounded theory study aims to understand how adult women who trade sex accessed and engaged with social services. Drawing from semistructured, in-depth interviews with 30 mostly Black and White women, results suggest that women’s differing viewpoints of sex trading and experiences of racial prejudice impacted their access and engagement with services. Women’s experiences ranged from affirmed to disrespected, which influenced whether and how they chose to continue seeking services. Implications are discussed.

Structural intersectionality and Indigenous Canadian youth who trade sex: understanding mobility beyond the trafficking model

Indigenous young people in Canada who trade sex frequently move locations as part of their survival tactics in negotiating the myriad vulnerabilities they face. Both Canadian law and social activists label all such mobility “trafficking”, which conceals the ways in which Indigenous youth are forced by structural factors beyond their control to be mobile to survive. Two politically opposed frameworks have been offered for understanding sex trading by Indigenous youth. While each explains some vulnerabilities faced by these young people, both overlook others. We posit mobility and sex trading as strategic responses to the material and ideological conditions faced by Indigenous young people, but strategic responses rooted in vulnerability and rife with exploitation. Ultimately, we argue that mobility is a response to vulnerability rather than its source.

Health implications of sex trading characteristics in Long Beach, California, USA

This study examined the comparative health risk behaviors of women who (a) traded sex for money, (b) traded sex for drugs, (c) traded sex for both drugs and money, or (d) did not trade sex. Self-report data were collected from 2369 women who received services through HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing programs and a subset were tested for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and syphilis. Results revealed those women who traded sex only for money used condoms, were tested for HIV, and received the HIV test results more often than the other women. Women who traded sex for both drugs and money reported a significantly higher prevalence of gonorrhea, hepatitis B, and syphilis; were more likely to test positive for hepatitis B, syphilis, and HIV; engaged more often in sex acts without condoms; and were incarcerated for significantly more days. Based on these findings, the targets with greatest potential for STI prevention interventions are female sex workers who trade sex for both drugs and money.