Age of first reported sexual experience among U.S. soldiers
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Cristóbal S. Berry-Cabán
,
Jamie N. Jenkins
Abstract
Studies show that the age of first sexual intercourse is directly correlated with risky sexual behavior among civilian populations. However, few studies have looked at the age of first intercourse and its consequence among soldiers. A study was conducted to examine the age of first sexual experience and sexual practices among soldiers surveyed at a large military post. The survey consisted of 31 fixed-choice items that focused on the soldiers’ sexual knowledge, beliefs and behaviors. A total of 450 soldiers were included in the sample. Respondents were divided into three main categories by age groupings of first sexual experience as follows: under 14 years of age, between the ages of 14 to 17 years, and over 18 years. All values were analyzed using frequency distributions with calculations of means, standard deviations, and range. Results showed that soldiers who had their first sexual experience under the age of 14 were more likely to participate in risky sexual behaviors than those whose first sexual experience occurred when soldiers were over the age of 18.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Ms. Bernetta Wiggins for her assistance in administering the survey, Ms. Jacqueline Pollack for assisting with data collection, and Ms. Caroline Scott for entering the survey responses into an Excel spread sheet. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.
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©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
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- Review
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- Original articles
- Prevalence of health risk behaviors and their associated factors among university students in Kyrgyzstan
- Heavy Internet use and its associations with health risk and health-promoting behaviours among Thai university students
- Dyslipidemia and hyperinsulinemia in children and adolescents with chronic liver disease: relation to disease severity
- A cross-national study to compare the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of sexually transmitted diseases and the sexual risk behaviors of Latino adolescents
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- Concurrent and simultaneous polydrug use among young Swiss males: use patterns and associations of number of substances used with health issues
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- Prehypertension and associated factors among university students in the Philippines
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- Awareness, acceptability, and use of female condoms among university students in Nigeria: implications for STI/HIV prevention
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