New research based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health has found that young adults who reported being paid for sex at least once by the age of 26 had a risk of being less educated than their parents that was twice as high compared to those who were never paid for sex. The study was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Sex work is the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for money or other types of economic compensation. It encompasses a wide range of activities, including prostitution, escort services, pornography, erotic dancing, and video/phone sex services. The legality and regulation of sex work vary widely between different countries and regions, ranging from full criminalization to decriminalization and even full legalization with regulations similar to other industries.
Several studies have linked being paid for sex with various maladaptive behaviors and health risks in young adults. These include sexually transmitted infections, involvement in violence, substance use disorders, runaway behavior or street involvement, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and physical injuries. However, it is unclear whether it is the consensual nature of sex work itself that leads to these negative outcomes.
Often, it is the stigmatization and negative perceptions of sex work ingrained in local cultures that contribute to the health, rights, and safety challenges faced by individuals involved in sex work. Additionally, young sex workers are at an increased risk of becoming disconnected from their families and society during a crucial period of their psychological development.
In their new study, Jori Jones and her colleagues sought to examine how engagement in sex work in young adulthood (18-26 years of age) is associated with the level of education attained by 35-42 years of age. They were particularly interested in the educational mobility of individuals involved in sex work, specifically how their educational level compared to that of their parents. The researchers hypothesized that individuals engaged in sex work during their youth would experience downward educational mobility, meaning they would be less educated than their parents.
These researchers analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), which initially recruited students aged 11 to 18 from 80 high schools and 52 middle schools across the U.S. during the 1994-1995 academic year. Since then, there have been four follow-up data collections, the most recent being between 2016 and 2018, when participants were between 33 and 43 years old. The dataset included 7,732 participants.
Sex work was assessed with the question, “Have you ever had sex with someone who paid you to do so?”, and participants answered with either yes or no. Educational mobility was calculated by comparing the educational levels of participants’ parents with the participants’ own educational achievements. In addition to this, the study authors considered various participants’ demographic data.
The results showed that by the age of 26, 2.3% of the study participants reported being involved in sex work. By the age of 43, 59% of participants reported having the same educational level as their parents.
A comparison of data on involvement in sex work and educational mobility showed that participants who reported involvement in sex work by age 26 were twice as likely to have a lower education than their parents by age 43, compared to those who were not involved in sex work.
“Our findings indicate that young adults involved in sex work are at higher risk for downward educational mobility relative to their parents. Given that education, by means of regular social connectedness to social supports, may be the most salient resiliency factor protecting adolescents from potential risks associated with sex work involvement (e.g., stigma, isolation from services), the findings from this study support the promotion of inclusive engagement from school settings to foster educational attainment and prevent poorer health and psychosocial outcomes that research to date has associated with sex work involvement,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on the link between sex work and educational mobility. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, the design of the study does not allow any cause-and-effect conclusions to be drawn from the data. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether difficulties in obtaining education increase the likelihood of involvement in sex work, or if involvement in sex work hinders further educational pursuits. Other factors that might explain this association remain to be explored.
The paper, “Sex Work and Educational Mobility: Results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health,” was authored by Jori Jones, Alexander Testa, Dylan B. Jackson, Jason M. Nagata, and Kyle T. Ganson.