THE PERSONALITY OF PROSTITUTES

Thirty-two female prostitutes and 32 controls were compared on the fiv e scales of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) and responses to a semi-structured interview. It was predicted that prost itutes would score higher on the Impulsive Sensation Seeking (ImpSS) a nd Aggression-Hostility (Agg-Host) scales. Differences between the gro ups on age and education were controlled by analysis of covariance. Th e ANCOVA showed the prostitutes scoring significantly higher on ImpSS than the controls. Cocaine users among the prostitutes scored higher o n ImpSS than other drug users and nonusers. Polydrug users scored high er than non-drug or single drug users on ImpSS. In accord with other r esearch and the model for the ZKPQ, the results suggest that prostitut es are characterized by antisocial personality traits. Copyright (C) 1 996 Elsevier Science Ltd.