Exploring Family Issues, Substance Abuse, Life Experiences, and Age of Entry into Prostitution among Prostituted Women.

Adolescent and adult prostitution and sex trafficking has become an international area of research in the past decade. Many prostitutes are involved in the "life" for years before they exit and few studies have explored the differing characteristics of women who entered prostitution as adolescents compared to those who entered as adults. This study will compare 178 incarcerated women participants in an abuse and trauma group who responded to a life experience survey and responded that they had prostituted in their lifetime and when they began. Those who began as adolescents described greater problems in their homes with drugs and alcohol, violence and running away and those who began as adults reported greater domestic violence experiences once they entered adulthood. Recommendations for treatment and interventions as well as future research direction shall be discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]