A comparison of self-reported sexual risk behaviours between US civilian and active duty military women
Shauna Stahlman A E , Marjan Javanbakht A , Susan Cochran A , Steven Shoptaw D , Alison B. Hamilton B C and Pamina M. Gorbach A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA.
B Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA.
C VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA.
D Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA.
E Corresponding author. Email: sstahlman@ucla.edu
Sexual Health 12(3) 272-275 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH14211
Submitted: 26 September 2014 Accepted: 10 February 2015 Published: 7 April 2015
Abstract
Women in the US military report a high prevalence of sexual risk behaviours, such as binge drinking and new or multiple sexual partnerships. However, demographical differences pose challenges to making comparisons with civilians. Two public-use datasets were used to compare prevalence of sexual risk behaviours between sexually active military and civilian women, after adjusting for demographic factors. It was found that women in the military reported a higher prevalence of binge drinking and new/multiple sexual partners as compared with civilians, which suggests that military women are a high-risk group and the military environment may at least partially facilitate these risk behaviours.
References
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