A-295 Visuospatial Skills of Adolescents Involved in Prostitution

Abstract

Objective: Adolescents involved in prostitution are exposed to traumatic experiences with long-term adverse effects including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Maltreated children tend to perform poorly on tasks of visuospatial orientation. We hypothesized that adolescents who had been involved in prostitution would have weak visuospatial skills and that those with a diagnosis of PTSD would have worse visuospatial skills than those without a diagnosis of PTSD. Method: Due to academic concerns, comprehensive neuropsychological assessment was conducted in a community mental health center with 22 adolescents (21 female and one trans to female) who had been involved in prostitution. Visuospatial skills were measured using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF). IQ ranged from 72 to 112 (M = 85.4, SD = 13.27). Sixteen out of the 22 participants were diagnosed with PTSD. Results: Adolescents involved in prostitution scored significantly lower on the copying trial of the ROCF (M = 24.2, SD = 7.89) than the normative sample (M = 33.6, SD = 2.98), t = -5.60, p <.001. However, the results revealed no significant difference on ROCF copy scores between participants diagnosed with PTSD (M = 24.69, SD = 6.41) and those not diagnosed with PTSD (M = 22.84, SD = 11.62), F(1, 20) = 0.23, p = 0.64, even controlling for age and intellectual functioning. Conclusion: The findings suggest that adolescents who experienced the trauma of prostitution may have deficiencies in visuospatial functioning, regardless of PTSD diagnosis. Thus they may distort environmental information, leading to poor decision-making.