Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Health Services

Advisor

Claire Robb

Abstract

Human trafficking victims are negatively impacted by the process of coercion, kidnapping, and forced sexual interactions. Previous research studies showed that sex trafficking impacts victims’ mental health. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether adverse childhood/adolescent experiences (i.e., substance abuse, psychological abuse, and physical abuse) influence recruitment to sex trafficking in the United States and whether age acts as a moderator. The health belief model provided the theoretical framework for the study that includes data from 2010–2015 collected by the Polaris Project, a global sex trafficking database. Convenience sampling was done to delineate the study variables and study time-period. This study focused on the 7,345 records for women who were exploited in the United States. A series of logistic regression analyses were used to calculate the relationship, if any, that exists between substance abuse, psychological abuse, and physical abuse and recruitment into sex trafficking in the United States, adjusting for age. The results of these analyzes indicated that substance abuse, physical abuse, and psychological abuse are all significant predictors of recruitment into sex trafficking, with age as a covariate. This study may lead to improved knowledge regarding pre-existing adverse childhood/adolescent experiences that were present among sex trafficking victims. Implications for positive social change are that the findings could lead to increased awareness of the potential link between children’s adverse experiences and the risk of recruitment into sex trafficking and increased targeted prevention efforts to help prevent sex trafficking from thriving.

Download

Share

 
COinS