(O-31) Mental health and quality of life of Brazilian camgirls

Abstract Camgirls are Sex Workers (SW) who offer various interactions, erotic shows, and live-streamed web sex over the Internet. Like other SW, they face risks and violence associated with the stigma of sex work, such as harassment, as well as digital-specific issues, including capping (non-consensual recording) and doxxing (exposure of personal data). Given these and other challenges that generate psychosocial impacts, the present study investigated whether camgirls present higher negative indicators of Mental Health (MH) - in the dimensions of depression, anxiety, and stress - and poorer Quality of Life (QoL) compared to Women Who Have Never Engaged in Sex Work (WNSW). The sample consisted of 190 camgirls and 210 WNSW, aged between 18 and 31 years, Brazilian, and with at least two months of experience in the field. To assess MH, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was applied, and to assess QoL, the World Health Organization Quality of Life—Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) was used. Descriptive analyses, Welch’s t-test for sample comparisons, and Pearson’s correlation were performed to explore relationships between variables. Camgirls showed higher levels of stress (t = –2.95, p < .01), anxiety (t = –2.82, p < .01), and depression (t = –4.20, p < .01), as well as lower overall (t = 2.91, p < .01) and physical QoL (t = 4.33, p < .01) compared to WNSW. Pearson’s correlations revealed negative associations between DASS-21 and WHOQOL: higher negative MH symptoms were related to lower QoL. It is concluded that camgirls exhibit worse MH and QoL indicators compared to WNSW. These findings highlight the importance of providing psychosocial support to this group. Financing No conflict.