Risk Propensity and Risk Factors for Sexually Transmitted Infections in Canadian Armed Forces Recruits

Abstract

Recent reported increases in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members prompt a need to better understand risky sexual behaviors. Although CAF members may be more prone to engage in certain risks as expected given their career choice, they may also be more prone to engage in behaviors that could compromise their health. CAF recruits (n = 8,686) reported their number of sexual partners, frequency of condom use, history of STI diagnosis, and measures of health and safety, and recreational risk propensity. Results indicated that recruits with a higher propensity to engage in health and safety risks were more likely to report having engaged in riskier sexual behaviors. Although recruits higher in recreational risk propensity were more likely to have more sexual partners, they were also more likely to engage in more frequent condom use. Although openness to recreational risk can be desirable in military members, health and safety risk propensity can lead to health compromising behaviors, which could, in turn, impair operational fitness. Better understanding of how risk propensity may contribute to unsafe sexual practices can inform the development of screening tools to identify segments of the recruit population that would benefit from targeted interventions and programing.