MMPI characteristics of professional prostitutes: a cross-cultural replication

The personality characteristics of 41 professional prostitutes in Brussels, Belgium, were examined using either a French- or a Flemish-language version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). A comparison group of 96 nonprostitute women was recruited from among employees of an international airline. Age differences within the prostitute group were also examined. In some contrast to prior research findings, the prostitute group was significantly more deviant on several indicators of psychopathology. Also, older prostitutes were more deviant than younger ones. An appreciable number of the women in this profession are in need of psychological treatment.