Jj. Potterat et al., PATHWAYS TO PROSTITUTION - THE CHRONOLOGY OF SEXUAL AND DRUG-ABUSE MILESTONES, The Journal of sex research, 35(4), 1998, pp. 333-340
To assess the sequence, timing, and prevalence of sexual and illegal d
rug use milestones in prostitute women, we interviewed 237 prostitutes
in the community and 407 comparison women at an STD clinic. Drug use
was more commonly reported by prostitutes than comparisons (86% vs. 23
%), as was non-consensual prepubertal sex (32% vs. 13%). Sexual- and d
rug-related milestones occurred in the same order in both groups, with
drug use preceding sexual activity and injecting drug use preceding p
rostitution. Ninety-four percent of prostitutes who injected drugs rep
orted noninjectable drug use before prostitution, and 75% of prostitut
es who injected drugs reported doing so before beginning prostitution.
The age distributions at critical events were similar for prostitutes
and comparison women who reported regular drug use. Comparison women
who did not report regular drug use were in general older than both th
ese groups at the time of early sexual experience and drug experimenta
tion. However the ordering: of these events was the same. Within the p
rostitute cohort, ethnic groups differed in their age distributions at
several critical events, but not in the order in which these events o
ccurred. Information reported by prostitutes on sex- and drug-related
milestones was reproducible on reinterview a year later: Further resea
rch is needed to develop a coherent understanding of the relationship
of underlying psychological and environmental factors to the observed
progression from substance abuse to prostitution.