Longitudinal Outcomes Related to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors in a Community Sample of Youth

• In Event: Improving Identification and Services for Trafficking Victims

Abstract

Researchers have suggested that victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) have deleterious long-term outcomes; however, the longitudinal trajectories of youth who experience CSE are underexplored. For the current study, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) survey was used to compare the trajectories of youth who had experienced CSE with their non-exploited peers. Propensity score matching was used to match youth at Waves 1 and 2 who experienced CSE with those who did not experience CSE but had similar profiles of risk (N = 860). We then looked longitudinally at psychological, behavioral, physical, and interpersonal well-being at Waves 3-5. Youth who had experienced CSE had higher levels of injection drug use, more police stops, more emergency room visits, and lower relationship satisfaction than their non-exploited peers. Well-being for individuals who experienced CSE as youth changed over time, but changes were comparable to the changes experienced by individuals of similar risk who did not experience CSE. Youth experiencing issues related to drug use, delinquency, interpersonal relationships, and/or with urgent health care needs may benefit from CSE screening, so that victims can be identified and provided comprehensive services.

Authors

• Jennifer O'Brien, University of New Hampshire

• Todd Jensen, University of North Carolina

• Kimberly Mitchell, Crimes against Children Research Center

• Kevin White, East Carolina University