The overall aim of the proposed qualitative grounded theory research project is to identify the types of prostitutes involved in street level prostitution. This will be accomplished over a 2 year period by attending to the specific aims of the project which are (1) to examine and verify the existence of various behavioral types of street level prostitutes, (2) to examine the moderating and mediating factors associated with well-being and risk. (3) To examine how the """"""""type"""""""" affects women's involvement with 4 common risk factors associated with street level prostitution namely, HIV, violence, drug abuse, and emotional & physical well being. (4) To examine the lifestyle of each type of female street level prostitute. (5) To determine the factors that contribute to women initially becoming a particular type of street level prostitute or shifting to another """"""""type"""""""" within the range of street level prostitution. This study is a validation study to verify what was found in a preliminary qualitative study of 21 women from the Midwest. A typology of street level prostitutes, namely, Conventional Pimp Controlled, Renegade, and Outlaw Prostitutes were found in the preliminary study. The proposed study will take place in the Midwestern State of Ohio. 45 women will be involved including 15 Conventional Pimp Controlled, 15 Renegade, and 15 Outlaw Prostitutes. Of those 45, 15 will be interviewed in jail, 15 in social service programming, and 15 actively working. The study will fill an important gap in that a more complete knowledge base will be developed to provide important scientific data for planning future research on women's involvement in street level prostitution. This study is in preparation for a larger multiyear R01 study that will seek to determine the common pathways from entrance to exit for the categories of the women involved in street level prostitution. The present proposal will also offer important practical insights on service-related barriers and provide helping professionals with the information needed to develop programming that is tailored to the needs of street level prostitutes in order to slow the spread of HIV and other prostitute-related risk factors.
