Study: Female Marine Recruits Lax on Sex

They're nearly twice as a likely to have a sexually transmitted disease and less inclined to use a condom. They've got a generally lax attitude toward mixing alcohol and sex and were barely out of high school and gunning to be Marines.
 
A recently published study raised some eyebrows when it found that's an apt description of women enlisting in the Corps.
 
When the seven-page study formidably titled, "Relationships among Sociodemographic Markers, Behavioral Risk, and Sexually Transmitted Infections in U. S. Female Marine Corps Recruits," hit the Internet late last year, some less responsible media used the finding as an easy excuse to lambaste supposedly sleazy lady Leathernecks.
 
But Military.com tracked down one of the study's author for a more detailed look at the findings.
 
Cherrie Boyer, a University of California at San Francisco professor who led the research, stressed several points.
 
First, while the report was published in the Military Medicine Journal last November, the actual study was conducted in 1999. It was a self-administered questionnaire that sought accuracy in brutally honest questions like: Having my sexual partner put on a condom during sex spoils the mood?
 
Moreover, it was not designed to track sexually transmitted diseases.
 
The numbers were collected as part of a larger study on pregnancy in the Marine Corps meant to provide useful analysis the researchers could convert into a strategy to help the Corps cope with unintended pregnancies in the ranks.
 
"Having their recruits maintain combat readiness. That was the primary focus of the research," Boyer said. "It's not a cause and effect, we're looking at associations. It's not done over time, we simply screened at one single point. We make it very clear this is not cause and effect."
 
Translation: this study shouldn't disparage female Marines. Nevertheless, the findings were difficult to ignore.
 
The female recruits had higher rates of the most common STDs -- Chlamydia and gonorrhea - and were less fond of using condoms during intercourse. They had lax attitudes about combing alcohol and sex and were more likely to have sex with a minority.
 
"Sex is more likely and more enjoyable under the effect of alcohol. Not that they themselves did that, but that they agreed with this," Boyer said.
 
The Navy takes reproductive health seriously and has been tracking sexually transmitted diseases in the Marine Corps for decades.
 
Results from its latest round of testing provide a glimpse into the sexual responsibility of Marines -- for better or worse.
 
Last year, 2,020 Leathernecks contracted Chlamydia - the most common STD in the U.S. -- which translates to roughly 605 cases per 100,000 Marines.
 
That's far higher than the 370 cases per 100,000 in the general population, according to Dr. Michael R. MacDonald, Manager, Sexual Health and Responsibility Program at the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center.
 
MacDonald stressed comparisons between Marines and civilians have to be taken in the context of the various methods of data collection that may skew data from the civilian population.
 
Nevertheless, data shows that Marines contract syphilis, gonorrhea and HIV at a lesser rate than their civilian counterparts. Last year, for instance, 16 Marines tested newly positive for HIV, the precursor to AIDS. That's 13 per 100,000 Marines tested, much less than the 23 per 100,000 in the civilian population, MacDonald said.
 
The Corps, for its part, has long included a refresher Sex Ed course as part of basic training. In part of the 40 hours of "core values" training that ranges from ethics and illegal drug use to parenthood and financial responsibility, Marine recruits receive an hour of academic training that focuses on sex.
 
And in a section of boot camp never destined for a high-speed television commercial, each Marine takes part in two 30-minute informal discussions with a senior drill instructor targeted on reproductive health.
 
Female recruits go one step further with small group discussion facilitated by the women's wellness clinic.
 
Boyer stressed the study should be broadly interpreted.
 
"This is about prevention. It's not about highlighting that these women are engaging in all these behaviors and that says something about them," she said. "This is the same for a lot of young people."
 
The study relied on generally accepted numbers for the rate of STDs, but Boyer said the study's aggressive screening methods may skew the findings.
 
"We're comparing them to the civilian population, but they were not screened in the same way," she said. "It might be a similar rate if I go and look at college freshman."
 
But colleges are far less interested in unintended pregnancies impacting combat readiness.
 
That's why she has worked with Corps officials to help implement more effective means to protect young recruits from risky behavior and is now preparing for a separate study on sexual attitudes in the Army.
 
"It's important for me to understand factors that influence young people's health," she said. "And arm young people with knowledge and skills to prepare them to be healthy adults."