A comparison of condom use, HIV and sexual health screenings between MSM with and without military service

Previous research suggests that US military servicemen participate in higher risk activities, especially veterans, when compared to civilian populations. Similar to other sorts of communities, there may be unique factors influencing behaviors of those identifying as part of the military, in particular gay and bisexual male servicemen. Coupled with the lack of research on sexual minority servicemen, an investigation of this group's sexual health behaviors and HIV/STI status is warranted.

A sample of 899 respondents were recruited via web-posting and emails from various gay-related websites to complete an online survey examining sexual behaviors, health status and condoms use. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze hypothesized relationships between the data.

Contrary to our hypotheses, servicemen were more likely to report using a condom during receptive (p = .01, OR=1.61, 95% CI=1.11-2.35) and insertive (p = .04, OR=1.50, 95% CI=1.02-2.18) anal intercourse compared to civilians. Additionally, participants with military service had shorter HIV/STI testing latencies compared to respondents without military service.

Military service may serve as a protective factor among sexual minority men. This protective factor may be related to fears of sexual orientation being disclosed. Alternatively, they may be an outcome related to personal characteristics or an artifact of the learned behaviors “to protect and serve.” Granted, servicemen may participate in higher risk behaviors when the outcome will only negatively impact them; however, because sexual activity is an interpersonal process, sexual minority men with military service may feel obligated to protect their sexual partners compared to those without military service.