TY - JOUR
T1 - Trading sex
T2 - Voluntary or coerced? The experiences of homeless youth
AU - Tyler, Kimberly A.
AU - Johnson, Katherine A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Note. This research was funded by a UNL Faculty Seed Grant awarded to Kimberly A. Tyler and by the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 57110).
PY - 2006/8
Y1 - 2006/8
N2 - This study examined the circumstances surrounding a homeless youth's "decision" to trade sex for food, money, shelter, or drugs. Forty homeless youth in 4 Midwestern states participated in individual, in-depth qualitative interviews. Interviewers recruited youth through both service agencies and street outreach. The findings revealed that approximately one third of the sample had some experience with trading sex, whether it was in the form of having traded sex, having been propositioned to trade sex but having refused, or having friends or acquaintances that had traded sex. Young people's reports indicated that they had traded sex for things they deemed necessary in order to survive (i.e., food, shelter, money, or drugs) and that they did not want to trade sex, but did so because they were desperate and lacked alternatives. Additionally, others were coerced, manipulated, or forced to do so, indicating that the decision to trade sex is not always voluntary. We discuss the implications of these findings in terms of cumulative effects on youths' later development. Directions for future research among this population are also discussed.
AB - This study examined the circumstances surrounding a homeless youth's "decision" to trade sex for food, money, shelter, or drugs. Forty homeless youth in 4 Midwestern states participated in individual, in-depth qualitative interviews. Interviewers recruited youth through both service agencies and street outreach. The findings revealed that approximately one third of the sample had some experience with trading sex, whether it was in the form of having traded sex, having been propositioned to trade sex but having refused, or having friends or acquaintances that had traded sex. Young people's reports indicated that they had traded sex for things they deemed necessary in order to survive (i.e., food, shelter, money, or drugs) and that they did not want to trade sex, but did so because they were desperate and lacked alternatives. Additionally, others were coerced, manipulated, or forced to do so, indicating that the decision to trade sex is not always voluntary. We discuss the implications of these findings in terms of cumulative effects on youths' later development. Directions for future research among this population are also discussed.
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U2 - 10.1080/00224490609552319
DO - 10.1080/00224490609552319
M3 - Article
C2 - 17599243
AN - SCOPUS:33748251701
SN - 0022-4499
VL - 43
SP - 208
EP - 216
JO - Journal of Sex Research
JF - Journal of Sex Research
IS - 3
ER -