University Students Who Report Providing Sexual Services, Acts, or Materials for Financial Compensation: Survey Results at a Public, Midwestern University

Background: Trading sex for financial compensation is associated with increased vulnerability to physical and sexual victimization, substance use, and mental health problems. Among university students, prior research using a single-item measure suggests that 2-4.5% of samples report sex trading. Virtual sex trading (e.g., videos) may protect from some harms, (e.g., STIs) but results in cyber violence, harassment, stalking, and doxing. Whether and how university students trade virtual and in-person sex acts and under what conditions remains unknown. Using rigorously developed measures, our research questions were:

• To what extent do undergraduate and graduate students provide or consider providing sexual acts, services, or materials for financial compensation at a public, Midwestern university?
• What are the perceived reasons, compensations, harm reduction strategies, and outcomes associated with sex trading?

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey using the Sexual Services Acts Materials for Pay (SSAMP) among undergraduate and graduate students. The measure had strong convergent validity with single item used in prior studies, good internal consistency, and moderate to strong test-retest reliability.

Participants were 544 undergraduate students (Mage = 18.96 years [SD = 1.28]); 58.8% cisgender women; 66.5% white) and 331 graduate students (Mage = 26.69 years [SD = 4.51]); 55.0% cisgender women; 55.0% white), consistent with the Predominantly White Institution’s demographics. SSAMP items assessed acts, reasons, compensations, harm reduction strategies, and perceived positive and negative health, violence, interpersonal, and financial outcomes of sex trading.

We conducted descriptive analyses to compare those who (1) reported providing SSAMP, (2) considered but had not provided SSAMP, and (3) neither. Among participants who reported providing SSAMP, we analyzed mean ages of first act traded; reasons, compensations, where students met buyers; and labels for sex trading. We examined students’ reported use of harm reduction strategies, positive and negative outcomes, and correlations between strategies and outcomes.

Results: Eleven percent of undergraduates and 18.1% of graduate students reported at least one sex trading act for compensation. On average, undergraduates reported first trading as minors (Mage = 16.4 years [SD = 2.7]); whereas graduates began as young adults (Mage = 19.9 years [SD = 3.1]). Across samples, those who traded sex held more marginalized identities; cited empowerment (38.3% undergraduate, 45.0% graduate) and pressure by an intimate partner (31.7% undergraduate, 30.0% graduate) as primary reasons; received money (35.0% undergraduate, 50.0% graduate) and paid for basic needs (50.0% both samples); met buyers mostly on social media (41.7% undergraduate, 30.0% graduate) or dating websites (33.3% undergraduate, 35.0% graduate); and experienced both positive (34.6% undergraduate, 65.3% graduate) and negative outcomes (46.2% undergraduate, 61.2% graduate).

of sex trading. Greater use of harm reduction strategies was associated with more positive and negative outcomes.

Conclusions and Implications: Young people provide SSAMP for multifaceted reasons and the extent to which their reported use of harm reducing strategies improves outcomes requires further research. Developmental differences regarding first sex trade are important for tailored interventions. Results can be used to inform harm reducing policies and practices, as well as future longitudinal research in diverse university contexts.