When the bough breaks …: Examining intergenerational parent–child relational patterns among street-level sex workers and their parents and children

The purpose of this investigation was to examine streetwalking prostitutes’ perceptions of early traumatic experiences and childhood relationship patterns with parents or parental figures and to explore relationship patterns with their own children. Forty-three women involved in street-level sex work were interviewed at length. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis (Aronson, 1994). Abandonment, both literal and symbolic, was the overarching theme characterizing participants’ lives during childhood and adolescence. The intergenerational trend of abandonment was evident in participants’ descriptions of relationships with their own children. Avenues for future work are suggested.