“It’s the only way i could honestly survive the pandemic”: student involvement in sex work amid the COVID-19 pandemic

J Am Coll Health. 2025 Oct 19:1-12. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2025.2573110. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Objective: In a campus-representative survey of students, the aims were: 1) describe participation in sex work among students in the U.S., 2) describe demographic and psychosocial characteristics of students involved in sex work, 3) understand student involvement in sex work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: 4,231 undergraduate and graduate students at a large public university in the U.S. Methods: A 136-item confidential online survey about health and relationships. Results: 3.2% (n = 109) of the sample reported involvement in sex work since beginning college. Students involved in sex work (SISW) were 1.7 times (aOR = 1.736, 95% CI = [1.072, 2.811]; p = .025) more likely to report moderate to severe depression and reported higher proportions of anxiety and loneliness than students without involvement. Conclusions: SISW in the U.S. are a unique student population who disproportionately report adverse socioemotional health experiences. Implications for college health and sexuality professionals are discussed.

PMID:41111158 | DOI:10.1080/07448481.2025.2573110