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Patterns of Client Behavior with Their Most Recent Male Escort: An Application of Latent Class Analysis

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Abstract

Research examining interactions between male escorts and clients has relied heavily on data from escorts, men working on the street, and behavioral data aggregated over time. In the current study, 495 clients of male escorts answered questions about sexual behavior with their last hire. Latent class analysis identified four client sets based on these variables. The largest (n = 200, 40.4 %, labeled Typical Escort Encounter) included men endorsing behavior prior research found typical of paid encounters (e.g., oral sex and kissing). The second largest class (n = 157, 31.7 %, Typical Escort Encounter + Erotic Touching) included men reporting similar behaviors, but with greater variety along a spectrum of touching (e.g., mutual masturbation and body worship). Those classed BD/SM and Kink (n = 76, 15.4 %) reported activity along the kink spectrum (BD/SM and role play). Finally, men classed Erotic Massage Encounters (n = 58, 11.7 %) primarily engaged in erotic touch. Clients reporting condomless anal sex were in the minority (12.2 % overall). Escorts who engage in anal sex with clients might be appropriate to train in HIV prevention and other harm reduction practices—adopting the perspective of “sex workers as sex educators.”

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to “Daddy,” the moderator of DaddysReviews.com, for his guidance in developing this survey as well as engaging members of the website to participate. Also, thanks to H. Jonathon Rendina for his guidance in programming the online survey and to the participants who took part in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY), 2900 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA

    Christian Grov

  2. Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), New York, NY, USA

    Christian Grov, Tyrel J. Starks, Juline A. Koken & Jeffrey T. Parsons

  3. Doctoral Program in Public Health, The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, NY, USA

    Christian Grov, Margaret Wolff & Jeffrey T. Parsons

  4. CUNY School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA

    Christian Grov, Margaret Wolff & Jeffrey T. Parsons

  5. Department of Psychology, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA, USA

    Michael D. Smith

  6. Health Psychology and Basic and Applied Social Psychology Doctoral Programs, Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, NY, USA

    Jeffrey T. Parsons

  7. Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, NY, USA

    Jeffrey T. Parsons

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  1. Christian Grov
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  2. Tyrel J. Starks
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  3. Margaret Wolff
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Correspondence to Christian Grov.

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Grov, C., Starks, T.J., Wolff, M. et al. Patterns of Client Behavior with Their Most Recent Male Escort: An Application of Latent Class Analysis. Arch Sex Behav 44, 1035–1045 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0297-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0297-z

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