Variations in the prevalence of paying for sex in the past 5 years by key demographic, general health, and sexual behaviour factors
| Paid for sex, past 5 years | Univariable logistic regression | Multivariable logistic regression | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cent | 95% CI | OR | 95% CI | p Value | AOR* | 95% CI | p Value | Denominators† | |
| All men | 3.6 | (3.1 to 4.2) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6108, 7265 |
| Demographics | |||||||||
| Age group (years) | 0.0002 | <0.0001 | |||||||
| 16–24 | 2.7 | (1.9 to 3.7) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1713, 1226 | ||||
| 25–34 | 5.4 | (4.3 to 6.8) | 2.05 | (1.37 to 3.07) | 3.13 | (2.05 to 4.78) | 1495, 1346 | ||
| 35–44 | 3.9 | (2.7 to 5.7) | 1.47 | (0.88 to 2.46) | 2.75 | (1.60 to 4.72) | 793, 1401 | ||
| 45–54 | 3.6 | (2.5 to 5.1) | 1.34 | (0.82 to 2.20) | 2.45 | (1.47 to 4.10) | 767, 1367 | ||
| 55–64 | 3.6 | (2.4 to 5.4) | 1.37 | (0.81 to 2.30) | 2.32 | (1.34 to 4.00) | 728, 1134 | ||
| 65–74 | 1.2 | (0.6 to 2.4) | 0.45 | (0.22 to 0.95) | 0.83 | (0.39 to 1.77) | 612, 790 | ||
| Relationship status at interview | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||||
| Living with a partner | 2.5 | (2.0 to 3.2) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 2969, 4710 | ||||
| In a steady, non-cohabiting relationship | 3.6 | (2.4 to 5.2) | 1.43 | (0.90 to 2.29) | 1.45 | (0.89 to 2.35) | 959, 768 | ||
| No current steady partner | 6.3 | (5.2 to 7.6) | 2.59 | (1.88 to 3.56) | 2.58 | (1.84 to 3.62) | 2146, 1754 | ||
| NS-SEC14 code (individual socioeconomic status) | 0.1014 | 0.0001 | |||||||
| Semiroutine/routine | 3.1 | (2.3 to 4.0) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 2018, 2319 | ||||
| Intermediate | 3.5 | (2.4 to 4.9) | 1.13 | (0.71 to 1.79) | 1.34 | (0.84 to 2.16) | 913, 1202 | ||
| Managerial/professional | 4.5 | (3.5 to 5.7) | 1.49 | (1.02 to 2.17) | 1.88 | (1.27 to 2.79) | 1842, 2580 | ||
| Full-time student | 1.9 | (1.0 to 3.8) | 0.62 | (0.29 to 1.30) | 0.33 | (0.15 to 0.73) | 869, 660 | ||
| No job (10+ h/week) or not in past 10 years | 3.7 | (2.2 to 6.3) | 1.22 | (0.66 to 2.26) | 1.03 | (0.54 to 1.97) | 445, 477 | ||
| Resident in Greater London | 0.0963 | 0.1223 | |||||||
| No | 3.4 | (2.9 to 4.0) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5475, 6298 | ||||
| Yes | 4.9 | (3.3 to 7.3) | 1.47 | (0.93 to 2.30) | 1.44 | (0.91 to 2.29) | 633, 967 | ||
| Quintiles of Index of Multiple Deprivation§ | 0.7537 | 0.9233 | |||||||
| 1 (least deprived) | 3.2 | (2.3 to 4.4) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1192, 1493 | ||||
| 2 | 3.5 | (2.4 to 5.1) | 1.12 | (0.67 to 1.87) | 1.09 | (0.65 to 1.83) | 1207, 1533 | ||
| 3 | 3.7 | (2.7 to 5.0) | 1.16 | (0.71 to 1.88) | 1.02 | (0.62 to 1.66) | 1187, 1416 | ||
| 4 | 3.4 | (2.4 to 4.6) | 1.06 | (0.66 to 1.71) | 0.89 | (0.54 to 1.46) | 1225, 1453 | ||
| 5 (most deprived) | 4.3 | (3.1 to 5.8) | 1.35 | (0.85 to 2.15) | 1.09 | (0.69 to 1.72) | 1297, 1370 | ||
| General health | |||||||||
| Self-reported health status | 0.1374 | 0.0323 | |||||||
| Very good/good | 3.8 | (3.2 to 4.4) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5027, 5935 | ||||
| Fair | 3.2 | (2.2 to 4.5) | 0.84 | (0.56 to 1.27) | 0.72 | (0.46 to 1.12) | 844, 1042 | ||
| Bad/very bad | 1.6 | (0.7 to 3.8) | 0.42 | (0.17 to 1.03) | 0.33 | (0.13 to 0.83) | 235, 285 | ||
| Current frequency of binge drinking¶ | 0.0015 | 0.0029 | |||||||
| Never/rarely | 3.0 | (2.4 to 3.8) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 3398, 4242 | ||||
| Monthly | 3.9 | (2.8 to 5.6) | 1.31 | (0.86 to 1.99) | 1.39 | (0.90 to 2.14) | 1026, 1132 | ||
| Weekly/daily | 5.5 | (4.3 to 7.1) | 1.88 | (1.34 to 2.65) | 1.84 | (1.30 to 2.61) | 1252, 1412 | ||
| Current smoking status | 0.0573 | 0.2054 | |||||||
| Never smoked | 3.2 | (2.5 to 4.0) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 2958, 3434 | ||||
| Ex-smoker | 3.2 | (2.3 to 4.4) | 1.01 | (0.67 to 1.52) | 1.16 | (0.74 to 1.84) | 1376, 1918 | ||
| Current smoker | 4.6 | (3.6 to 5.9) | 1.46 | (1.04 to 2.07) | 1.39 | (0.96 to 2.01) | 1774, 1914 | ||
| Drug use, past year | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||||
| No | 2.9 | (2.4 to 3.4) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 4765, 6035 | ||||
| Yes, cannabis only | 3.4 | (2.1 to 5.4) | 1.21 | (0.72 to 2.02) | 1.08 | (0.65 to 1.80) | 663, 621 | ||
| Yes, other hard drugs | 14.1 | (10.8 to 18.2) | 5.60 | (3.93 to 7.98) | 5.01 | (3.38 to 7.42) | 517, 475 | ||
| Sexual behaviour | |||||||||
| Number of sexual partners, past 5 years | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||||
| 0–2 | 1.0 | (0.7 to 1.3) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 4136, 5442 | ||||
| 3–4 | 6.3 | (4.5 to 8.7) | 6.79 | (4.19 to 11.01) | 10.27 | (5.90 to 17.87) | 758, 727 | ||
| 5+ | 15.7 | (13.1 to 18.7) | 18.94 | (12.79 to 28.06) | 31.50 | (18.69 to 53.09) | 1158, 1017 | ||
| New foreign sex partners abroad, past 5 years**,†† | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||||
| No | 1.9 | (1.6 to 2.4) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5662, 6781 | ||||
| Yes | 29.9 | (24.6 to 35.7) | 21.60 | (15.31 to 30.48) | 7.96 | (4.97 to 12.73) | 417, 433 | ||
| Same sex contact, past 5 years†† | <0.0001 | 0.3145 | |||||||
| No | 3.3 | (2.8 to 3.8) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5904, 7058 | ||||
| Yes | 14.2 | (8.8 to 22.3) | 4.91 | (2.79 to 8.62) | 1.36 | (0.75 to 2.45) | 203, 206 | ||
| Used Internet to find sexual partners, past year†† | <0.0001 | 0.0021 | |||||||
| No | 3.0 | (2.5 to 3.5) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5290, 6574 | ||||
| Yes | 18.1 | (13.6 to 23.6) | 7.21 | (4.96 to 10.49) | 1.97 | (1.28 to 3.03) | 389, 362 | ||
| Used condom for HIV/STI prevention, past year†† | <0.0001 | 0.1066 | |||||||
| No | 2.7 | (2.2 to 3.3) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 4230, 5673 | ||||
| Yes | 8.9 | (7.2 to 11.0) | 3.49 | (2.58 to 4.73) | 1.40 | (0.93 to 2.10) | 1279, 1081 | ||
| Overlap between partners, past 5 years†† | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||||
| No | 1.7 | (1.3 to 2.1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5005, 6129 | ||||
| Yes | 14.6 | (12.1 to 17.5) | 9.99 | (7.29 to 13.68) | 2.47 | (1.60 to 3.80) | 1057, 1065 | ||
*ORs adjusted for age (continuous), ‘relationship status at interview’, ‘NS-SEC code’, ‘resident in Greater London’, and ‘quintiles of multiple deprivation’. Variables are not adjusted for themselves. ‘Age group’ is not adjusted for age (continuous).
†Unweighted, weighted denominators.
§Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is a multidimensional measure of area (neighbourhood)-level deprivation based on the participant's postcode: IMD scores for England, Scotland and Wales were adjusted before being combined and assigned to quintiles, using a method by Payne and Abel.15
¶More than 8 units at one time.16
**Excludes partners from the UK while outside the UK.
††Additionally adjusted for ‘number of sexual partners, past 5 years’.
AOR, adjusted OR; NS-SEC, National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification; STI, sexually transmitted infection.