The personality of prostitutes

Thirty-two female prostitutes and 32 controls were compared on the five scales of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) and responses to a semi-structured interview. It was predicted that prostitutes would score higher on the Impulsive Sensation Seeking (ImpSS) and Aggression-Hostility (Agg-Host) scales. Differences between the groups on age and education were controlled by analysis of covariance. The ANCOVA showed the prostitutes scoring significantly higher on ImpSS than the controls. Cocaine users among the prostitutes scored higher on ImpSS than other drug users and nonusers. Polydrug users scored higher than non-drug or single drug users on ImpSS. In accord with other research and the model for the ZKPQ, the results suggest that prostitutes are characterized by antisocial personality traits.