Attitudes toward Sex Trafficking of University Students through a Multivariate Statistical Approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose This study examined the existence of different groups of attitudes toward sex trafficking in students from a bachelor’s degree programs in Social Education, Law, Psychology and Social Work of the University of Salamanca. Method It was investigated whether these groups could be characterized according to the age, sex, nationality, and academic degree of the participating group. The Scale to Measure Attitudes Toward Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls was used, it composed of six dimensions that group behavioral, cognitive, and affective attitudes. Result The results identified three clusters: C1-women of degree program in Law with high scores in the dimensions that measure attitudes toward helping survivors and raising awareness about sex trafficking; C2-women of degree program in Social Work with high scores in the dimensions that value attitudes toward the ability of women to leave sex trafficking, knowledge about it and empathic reactions toward those affected, and C3-brings together most of the male participants with a low score on the dimension that measures helping attitudes toward survivors. Conclusion These findings reveal the existence of relationships between attitudes and the dimensions that measure the academic degree program and gender of the participants.