Citation

Ivanich J, Welch-Lazoritz M, Dombrowski K. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017; 14(9): e14091031.

Affiliation

Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA. kdombrowski2@unl.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph14091031

PMID

28885558

PMCID

PMC5615568

Abstract

Engaging in survival sex and mental illness are overrepresented within homeless populations. This article assesses the relationship between symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and engaging in survival sex among homeless women. One hundred and fifty-eight homeless women completed surveys on self-reported BPD symptomology and sexual history. Bivariate and multivariate analyses conducted in this study provided insights into the association of experiencing BPD symptoms and engaging in survival sex.

RESULTS indicate that some symptoms of BPD are robustly correlated with engaging in survival sex among homeless adult women. Implications for service agencies and others working with at-risk female populations are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

borderline personality disorder; high risk populations; homeless; survival sex