(PM-06) Veterans vs. newcomers: are there differences in mental health and quality of life between Camgirls who started before or after the pandemic?

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic brought profound changes to people’s lifestyles, generating stress and transforming the routines of many individuals. As a consequence, many women had to adapt to new work arrangements, leading some to start working in the field of camming - online sex work involving live interactions such as web sex, conversations, and erotic shows. This profession is subject to social pressures that may affect Mental Health (MH) and Quality of Life (QoL). The aim of this study was to compare MH and QoL between camgirls who started their activities before and after the pandemic. The sample consisted of 65 women who started before and 125 who started after, all Brazilian and aged between 18 and 31 years. 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 and Welch’s t-test were performed for sample comparisons. No significant differences were found between the groups, either in overall MH (M = 18.43; t = –0.07), depression (M = 18.86; t = 0.00), anxiety (M = 14.98; t = –0.08), or stress (M = 21.45; t = –0.12), nor in overall QoL (M = 3.15; t = –0.62) and its domains: physical (M = 2.91; t = –0.41), psychological (M = 2.97; t = –0.75), relationships (M = 3.19; t = –0.47), and environment (M = 2.97; t = 0.71). Therefore, although camgirls presented MH and QoL scores suggesting the need for attention, there was no difference between those who started before or after the pandemic. This suggests that such mental aspects were not worse for those who began camming due to the various pandemic-related motivators that may have increased interest in this line of work. Financing No conflict.