Sex workers are twice as likely to be less educated than their parents

New research based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health found that young adults who reported being paid for sex at least once by age 26 were twice as likely to be less educated his than their parents to those who were never paid for sex. The study was published in Sexual Behavior Archives.

Sex work is the exchange of sexual services, performances or products for money or other economic consideration. It covers a wide range of activities including prostitution, escort services, pornography, erotic dancing and video/telephone sex services. The legality and regulation of sex work varies greatly between different countries and regions, ranging from full criminalization to decriminalization to full legalization, with similar regulations to other industries.

Several studies have linked paying for sex to various maladaptive behaviors and health risks in young adults. These include sexually transmitted infections, violence involvement, substance use disorders, escape behavior or street involvement, depression, post-traumatic 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 stigma and negative perceptions of sex work that are deeply rooted in local cultures that contribute to the health, legal and safety issues faced by those involved in sex work. In addition, young sex workers are at increased risk of being separated from their families and society at a crucial stage in their psychological development.

In their new study, Jori Jones and her colleagues wanted to examine how involvement in sex work in young adulthood (ages 18-26) is related to educational attainment at ages 35-42. They were particularly interested in the educational mobility of people involved in sex work, particularly in comparing their level of education with that of their parents. The researchers hypothesized that people who engaged in sex work in their youth would experience educational decline, 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 enrolled students ages 11 to 18 from 80 high schools and 52 middle schools in the United States during the 1994-1995 school year. Since then, there have been four follow-up data collections, the last 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 it?” and participants answered either “yes” or “no.” Educational mobility was calculated by comparing the educational level of participants’ parents with participants’ own educational attainment. In addition, the study authors took demographic data from various participants into account.

The results showed that by age 26, 2.3% of study participants reported engaging in sex work. At age 43, 59% of participants reported having the same level of education as their parents.

A comparison of data on sex work involvement and educational mobility found that participants who reported involvement in sex work at age 26 were twice as likely to have less education than their parents at age 43, compared to participants who were not involved in sex work.

“Our results suggest that young adults who engage in sex work are at higher risk of educational decline compared to their parents. Given that education through regular social connection to social support may be the most important resilience factor protecting youth from potential risks associated with sex work (e.g., stigma, isolation from services), the results of this study support the promotion of “ Inclusive engagement in school settings to promote educational attainment and prevent poorer health and psychosocial outcomes that have been linked to involvement in sex work in previous research,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the connection between sex work and educational mobility. However, there are also limitations that must be taken into account. In particular, the design of the study does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about cause and effect from the data. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether difficulties in obtaining education increase the likelihood of involvement in sex work or whether involvement in sex work hinders further educational activities. Other factors that could explain this association remain to be investigated.

The article, “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.