Sleep Disturbances and Hygiene of Adolescent Female Survivors of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.

INTRODUCTION: This cross-sectional quantitative study investigated the sleep hygiene and disturbances of adolescent female survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) compared to an online sample of community-dwelling adolescent females. METHOD: Community-dwelling adolescent females (aged 13-17 years, n = 61) and survivors of DMST housed in residental care (aged 12-17 years, n = 19) completed the Children's Report of Sleep Patterns (adolescent version). Descriptive statistics on sleep health in both samples were computed and compared using chi-square and t-tests. RESULTS: Among the survivors of DMST, the majority reported insufficient sleep duration, okay-to-poor sleep quality, waking thirsty, and frequent nightmares. Compared with community-dwelling adolescents, survivors of DMST had more symptoms of insomnia, sleepiness, nightmares, and waking thirsty (p < .05). DISCUSSION: Sleep disturbances among adolescent female survivors of DMST may be more prevalent than in community-dwelling adolescent females. Further empirical research on appropriate assessment and trauma-informed treatment of sleep in this population is needed.

Why Men (Don't) Buy Sex: Purity Moralization and Perceived Harm as Constraints on Prostitution Offending.

This study explores the moralization of purity and perceptions of harm as constraints on sex buying among men. Purchasing sex has long been considered an offense against public morality. While personal morality provides a powerful constraint on offending, and people may vary in the extent to which they experience moral intuitions about bodily and spiritual purity, research has so far neglected the role of purity moralization in understanding sex buying behavior. We hypothesize specifically that moral intuitions about purity constrain sex buying by leading people to perceive it as inherently wrong and by eliciting perceptions that sex buying is harmful to prostitutes. We test these hypotheses in a nationally representative survey of U.S. men (N = 2,525). Results indicate that purity moralization is associated with reduced sex buying, and that this relationship is mediated fully by perceptions of sex buying as harming prostitutes.

An eight-year analysis of child labor trafficking cases in the United States: Exploring characteristics, and patterns of child labor trafficking.

BACKGROUND: Child labor trafficking in the U.S. has proven to be difficult to research and very little is known about the scope, severity, or common characteristics of child labor trafficking situations. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore if child labor trafficking exists in the U.S. through investigating the labor trafficking cases filed from 2011 to 2018. Once identified, the contributing vulnerability factors and case outcomes were analyzed to build new knowledge about child labor trafficking in the U.S. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: This study explores 34 cross-section child labor trafficking criminal cases in the U.S. resulting in 52 child labor trafficking victims being identified. METHODS: Cross sectional child labor trafficking case data collected through online searches were analyzed and described. RESULTS: The majority of the cases (73.5%, n = 25) were child labor trafficking only while 26.5% (n = 9) were both sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Fifty-eight percent of the victims were children from countries outside of the U.S. Victims in more than half of the cases (n = 18) identified their relationship with their traffickers as "friendly strangers/acquaintances". Techniques for recruitment and retention used by the child labor traffickers included psychological, physical, and sexual violence along with offering shelter to the victims. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations include the need to increase research and awareness about child labor trafficking in the United States, to develop and implement civil child protection, and to improve child victim benefits and compensation in the United States.

Review of Published Curriculum on Sex Trafficking for Undergraduate Medical Trainees.

Educational councils and medical societies recommend that medical students learn to recognize and care for victims of sex trafficking. Previous research has found that healthcare providers are one of the few professionals to interact with sex trafficking victims during exploitation. This review evaluates currently published curricular and extracurricular U.S. medical education resources. A literature review of MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, MedEdPORTAL, Google Scholar, and Google was conducted in December 2018 to January 2019 using the search terms: human trafficking OR sex traffic OR sex violence OR sex work OR sex exploitation OR child prostitution AND education, medical, undergraduate OR students, medical OR medical student or medical education OR education, medical. The inclusion criteria included informational educational materials for medical students on sex trafficking. Studies were excluded for: non-English language, empirical research on sex trafficking, nonhealth or nonundergraduate medical students, and resources focused on other sexual health topics. The database literature search uncovered 64 scholarly articles. Inclusion criteria were met by 4 articles; 2 articles were added from a reference review, and an additional 5 articles were found from an Internet search. These 11 resources provided educational materials relevant to medical students on sex trafficking themes, including scope, consequences, identification, treatment, referral, legal, security, and prevention. The curricula demonstrated a wide variability in delivery method, length, and scope. A limited published sex trafficking curriculum exists for medical student learners. Future research evaluating unpublished curricula within U.S. medical schools is necessary to coordinate efforts for standardized and robust sex trafficking education.

The Sexual Exploitation of Girls in the United States: The Role of Female Pimps.

The role of women in the sex trafficking of minors in the United States has received limited research attention. Case study analysis of 49 female pimps from federal, state, and local cases were analyzed to explore whether there were differences in the penalties given to females when compared with their male co-defendants, and cross-case analysis was conducted to identify themes that represent female pimp typologies. Both prison sentence and probation sentences were significantly lower for female co-defendants when compared with their male co-defendants. Five discrete typologies were developed including Bottom, Madam/Business Partner, Family, Girilla, and Handler. Each of these had unique features regarding violence toward their minor victims, co-defendants, actions during the sexual exploitation of the minor, and sentencing outcomes. Implications for practice and future research were recommended.

Esuba: a psychoeducation group for incarcerated survivors of abuse.

This study examined the effects associated with a trauma and abuse-focused psychoeducation group for incarcerated women on decreasing trauma symptoms. A total of 320 women participated in 34 groups in five prisons that followed a manualized intervention. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used to examine changes on 10 Trauma Symptom Inventory subscales (Anxious Arousal, Depression, Anger/Irritability, Intrusive Experiences, Defensive Avoidance, Dissociation, Sexual Concerns, Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior, Impaired Self-Reference, and Tension Reduction Behavior). Analyses indicated significant improvement on all 10 trauma subscales. Small effect sizes were found on all of the subscales. The findings of this study are encouraging and are the first step toward more rigorous evaluation of this pilot program. These findings provide initial support for the use of group psychoeducation intervention to address traumatic stress symptoms with incarcerated women.

Juvenile entry into prostitution: the role of emotional abuse.

This study seeks to assess the nature and extent of childhood emotional abuse among adult women in a residential prostitution-exiting program. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the unique role of childhood emotional abuse in the prediction of age of entry into prostitution. Childhood emotional abuse, a history of running away during childhood, and participating in survival-based exchanges of sex were significantly associated with the commercial sexual exploitation of girls younger than age 18, while childhood emotional abuse contributed to predicting a younger age of entry. Results are discussed regarding policy, prevention, and future research.

Male and female juveniles arrested for murder: a comprehensive analysis of U.S. data by offender gender.

Murders committed by juveniles remain a serious concern in the United States. Most studies on juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs) have used small samples and have concentrated on male offenders. As a result, little is known about female JHOs and how they differ from their male counterparts on a national level. This study utilized the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) database to examine more than 40,000 murders committed by male and female juvenile offenders from 1976 to 2005. This research effort, the most expansive to date, replicated previous findings with respect to gender differences using bivariate and multivariate analyses. As predicted, six variables used to test eight hypotheses with respect to male and female JHOs in single-victim incidents were significant (victim age, victim-offender relationship, murder weapon, offender count, victim gender, and homicide circumstance). Regression analysis revealed that all variables remained significant when entered into the model. This article concludes with a discussion of our findings and directions for future research.

Comparing male and female juveniles charged with homicide: child maltreatment, substance abuse, and crime details.

This study examines a sample of 136 male and female juveniles charged with attempted homicide or homicide. The purpose of this study is to explore the differences between nondirect file male and female juvenile homicide offenders regarding individual, family, and crime circumstances. Findings suggest that compared to male juvenile offenders, female juvenile homicide offenders have higher rates of reported childhood abuse, more serious substance abuse, and mental health problems including suicidal ideations, depression, anxiety, anger, and irritability. Male juvenile homicide offenders reported higher rates of substance use than their female counterparts but the females had more serious substance abuse problems. Female juveniles were found to more often kill a person known to them and male homicide offenders were found to more often kill a stranger. These findings suggest strongly that male and female juvenile homicide offenders are dissimilar and require unique assessment and treatment.

Examining the sexual offenses of female juveniles: The relevance of childhood maltreatment.

Research on female juvenile sex offenders is limited by small clinical samples. Little is known about the characteristics of female sexual offending and how it is related to child maltreatment. This study examines data from the case histories of 118 female juvenile sex offenders. In contrast to portrayals in previous research, this study shows that female sex offenders are not a homogeneous group. Findings also included differentiation between female juvenile sexual offenders with a history of child maltreatment and those without a history of child maltreatment. Female juvenile sex offenders who had a history of child maltreatment were more likely to have a current mental health diagnosis and experience clinical levels of anger--irritability and depression--anxiety than those without a history of child maltreatment. The impact of a history of sexual abuse for female juvenile sex offenders was found to be important with regard to higher levels of coercion of their sexual abuse victims. Important distinctions are highlighted that have implications for female-specific assessment, treatment, and prevention.

The impact of child abuse on dissociative symptoms:a study of incarcerated women.

One-hundred and ninety-two incarcerated women who were participating in a trauma and abuse psychoeducation program were evaluated for childhood abuse, maltreatment and current dissociative symptoms. The link between childhood abuse and adult criminal behavior has been well studied but the mental health status of adult female inmates and the possible implications for their treatment and behavior is the next step. The participants reported high levels of childhood abuse, 68% reported molestation, 72% rape, 26% emotional abuse, 51% physical abuse. Almost half of the participants reported a clinically significant level of dissociative symptoms. The dissociative group was found to have higher rates of sexual, emotional and physical abuse. They were younger and had shorter sentences. A logistic regression model was developed with only physical abuse being a predictor of clinically significant dissociative symptoms. Results are discussed in terms of how the high level of dissociative symptoms may impact future delinquency and corrections staff and possible future research.

Characteristics and predictors of self-mutilation: a study of incarcerated women.

BACKGROUND: Research on self-mutilating behaviour and incarcerated adults has found that nearly 50% of people in prison participated in it (Holley and Alborleda-Florez, 1988). This is an enormous liability for the criminal justice system as well as a human concern. AIMS/HYPOTHESES: The research question for this study was to explore whether a history of childhood abuse in a sample of incarcerated women would increase their likelihood of self-mutilation. METHODS: Participants were 256 female inmates from five prisons in a large southern state who volunteered to attend a 12-week trauma and abuse psychosocial intervention group. The participants were evaluated for childhood abuse, criminal history, risk-taking behaviour and self-mutilation. Data are presented regarding individual, criminal, abuse, family and risk-taking behaviours comparing self-mutilators (n = 109) with non-self-mutilators (n = 147). RESULTS: The self-mutilation group was more likely to report higher rates of emotional, sexual and physical abuse and on clinical significance scales of anxiety, depression, dissociation, impaired self-reference, anger, tension reduction and intrusive experiences. The self-mutilation group was also younger and was more often Caucasian. The results of the regression model suggest that a history of suicide attempts, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, bingeing and vomiting and impaired self-reference are predictors of self-mutilation. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Recommendations and implications for practice are discussed.

Adolescent female murderers: characteristics and treatment implications.

This study examines individual and family characteristics of a population of 29 adolescent females charged with homicide or attempted homicide in the juvenile justice system. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the limited knowledge about adolescent females charged with homicide. Data were collected including the MAYSI-2, a risk classification instrument, and social, educational and family histories. Findings include high rates of reported substance use, delinquent peers, early indicators of mental health problems, and limited control and supervision by parents. The most common weapon used was a car and the most common victim was a known person. A comparison was conducted on girls charged with homicide during the commission of another crime or committed during a conflict. The conflict group was found to victimize friends and family significantly more often than the crime group. The crime group showed higher use of alcohol and drugs, used a gun more and had co-offenders at a higher rate. A profile was developed to describe the typical adolescent female homicide offender found in this study. Treatment recommendations and future research were discussed.

A program analysis of Esuba: helping turn abuse around for inmates.

This investigation is an empirical evaluation of Esuba, an abuse awareness program implemented in the Florida correctional system. Research has indicated a link between violent and abusive behavior and criminal activity. This study specifically addressed whether the Esuba program had an impact on offenders' self-esteem, stability of self, faith in people, and sensitivity to criticism as measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The results from the application of the Esuba program to an incarcerated offender population are encouraging. The results suggest that the Esuba program does appear to significantly increase offenders' emotional self-preservation.