Research Article The Attitudes Toward Prostitutes and Prostitution Scale: A New Tool for Measuring Public Attitudes Toward

Contemporary developments in social attitudes toward prostitution and prostitutes influence both social policies and the social work profession. Understanding individuals ’ attitudes toward these issues is necessary for the development of social interventions and policies aimed at reducing stigmata attached to them. This article describes a new research measure for the assessment of attitudes toward prostitutes and prostitution (the Attitudes toward Prostitutes and Prostitution Scale; APPS), and outlines its development process. Results from pilot studies using the APPS are presented, alongside detailed information regarding the measure’s psychometric properties. The article concludes with a review of possible uses and limitations of the APPS