Psychological characteristics of a sample of male street prostitutes.

Two hundred and eleven male street prostitutes were interviewed and administered the SCL 90-R psychological symptom checklist. When compared to nonpatient normals, male prostitutes exhibited significantly higher levels of psychopathology. However, when compared to adult psychiatric outpatients, male prostitutes exhibited significantly less psychopathology on all symptom dimensions of the SCL 90-R except paranoid ideation. The male prostitutes' elevated scores on the psychological symptom checklist may reflect their response to an often dangerous and chaotic environment. However, it is as likely that their psychological functioning leads them to this particular milieu.