University Students Who Report Exchanging Sex for Money or Other Compensation: Findings from a Public University Sample

Whether and how university students exchange sex for financial compensation in the USA is critically understudied. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to determine whether undergraduate and graduate students at a large public university report exchanging sex for financial or other compensation, and identify factors (e.g., demographics, childhood adversity, mental health) associated with exchanging sex. Participants were 600 college students (M age = 21.3 years [SD = 3.8]); 72% cisgender women; 43.4% racial/ethnic minority) from a large public university in the Northeastern USA who completed cross-sectional, online questionnaires about lifetime trauma, adversity exposure, sexual behaviors, and current mental health and substance use symptoms. A total of 4.5% of participants reported exchanging sex for money, alcohol/drugs, or other forms of compensation. Bivariate analysis revealed that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans students (versus cisgender, heterosexual students), students who had more severe childhood trauma, who reported being removed from their family home in childhood, and students who were diagnosed with a mental health disorder before age 18 were more likely to report exchanging sex. In a multivariable model, only emotional neglect and greater alcohol use problems were significantly associated with likelihood of exchanging sex. To our knowledge, this is the first US study to determine whether university students exchange sex for money, alcohol/drugs, or other compensation. Findings suggest that universities could consider addressing exchanging sex in person-centered, supportive sexual health programming, university health services responses, and community spaces that support LGBTQ+ students. Future research is needed to understand students’ circumstances in exchanging sex and differentiate compensation type.