Search

The purpose of this study was to explore the risk factors and the impact of a prostitution diversion program on prostitution recidivism. Risk factors and recidivism were explored using chi-square, t tests, and survival analysis. Participants were 448 individuals who were arrested for prostitution and attended a prostitution-focused diversion program. Of the sample, 65 were rearrested for prostitution (14.5 %) within the first 12 months after the arrest leading to their involvement in the diversion program. Prior arrest for prostitution, addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, and childhood physical abuse were found to be risk factors for prostitution rearrest. The relationship between program completion and recidivism was found to be significant with the participants who completed all program requirements less likely to have been rearrested. Future studies on risk factors for recidivism and program impact should include separating males and females as well as exploring those who began sex work before age 18 compared to those who began after age 18. The program components could also be provided to women while incarcerated to compare risk factors and the impact on recidivism. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

This study explores the moralization of purity and perceptions of harm as constraints on sex buying among men. Purchasing sex has long been considered an offense against public morality. While personal morality provides a powerful constraint on offending, and people may vary in the extent to which they experience moral intuitions about bodily and spiritual purity, research has so far neglected the role of purity moralization in understanding sex buying behavior. We hypothesize specifically that moral intuitions about purity constrain sex buying by leading people to perceive it as inherently wrong and by eliciting perceptions that sex buying is harmful to prostitutes. We test these hypotheses in a nationally representative survey of U.S. men (N = 2,525). Results indicate that purity moralization is associated with reduced sex buying, and that this relationship is mediated fully by perceptions of sex buying as harming prostitutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effects associated with a trauma and abuse-focused psychoeducation group for incarcerated women on decreasing trauma symptoms. A total of 320 women participated in 34 groups in five prisons that followed a manualized intervention. A one-group pretest–posttest design was used to examine changes on 10 Trauma Symptom Inventory subscales (Anxious Arousal, Depression, Anger/Irritability, Intrusive Experiences, Defensive Avoidance, Dissociation, Sexual Concerns, Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior, Impaired Self-Reference, and Tension Reduction Behavior). Analyses indicated significant improvement on all 10 trauma subscales. Small effect sizes were found on all of the subscales. The findings of this study are encouraging and are the first step toward more rigorous evaluation of this pilot program. These findings provide initial support for the use of group psychoeducation intervention to address traumatic stress symptoms with incarcerated women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the moralization of purity and perceptions of harm as constraints on sex buying among men. Purchasing sex has long been considered an offense against public morality. While personal morality provides a powerful constraint on offending, and people may vary in the extent to which they experience moral intuitions about bodily and spiritual purity, research has so far neglected the role of purity moralization in understanding sex buying behavior. We hypothesize specifically that moral intuitions about purity constrain sex buying by leading people to perceive it as inherently wrong and by eliciting perceptions that sex buying is harmful to prostitutes. We test these hypotheses in a nationally representative survey of U.S. men ( N = 2,525). Results indicate that purity moralization is associated with reduced sex buying, and that this relationship is mediated fully by perceptions of sex buying as harming prostitutes.