Depression and cognitive distortion among women involved in prostitution in Malaysia

Abstract

Despite public rejection, prostitution has grown and prospered. Most studies focused on the social, legal and historical aspects of prostitution. Very few had attempted to look at this phenomenon from the psychological perspective. This study aimed at looking at the cognitive distortion and depression among women involved in prostitution in Malaysia. Subjects for this study were 404 prostitutes living in different cities/towns in Malaysia whose age ranged from 16 to 54 years old. Briere's 40 item Cognitive Distortion Scale (CDS) was used to measure cognitive distortion while Reynolds Adult Depression Scale (RADS) was used to measure depression. Results of this study showed that there was a positive significant correlation between cognitive distortion and depression. Results also indicated that there was a difference in cognitive distortion and depression among the subjects based on ethnic and religious background.