Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, and Physical Activity among U.S. Military Service Members in the Millennium Cohort Study

Abstract

Sexual harassment and sexual assault continues to be a focus of prevention efforts in the United States military because of its prevalence and potential to impact the health and readiness of service members. Limited research exists on the association of sexual harassment and sexual assault with coping behaviors, such as physical activity, within the military. Data including self-reported sexual assault, sexual harassment, and physical activity were obtained from the Millennium Cohort Study, a longitudinal cohort study designed to examine the impact of military service on the health and well-being of service members. A hierarchical regression approach was applied to examine the association between sexual harassment or assault and subsequent physical activity levels. Hierarchical regression showed that, among those self-reporting recent sexual assault, the odds of having medium-high (300-449 minutes/week) and high physical activity levels (>450 minutes/week) was significantly increased. While the magnitude of these associations was attenuated with increasing amount of adjustment, the odds of high physical activity levels remained statistically significant in the fully adjusted model (medium-high: odds ratio, OR: 1.72, 95 CI 1.08-2.73; high: OR: 1.58, 95 CI 1.02-2.44). We observed statistically significant negative associations between recent sexual harassment and medium-high physical activity level in adjusted models (OR: 1.72, 95 CI 1.08-2.73). The current results demonstrate that sexual assault is generally associated with increased levels of physical activity among military service members. Analyzing the relationship between sexual trauma and physical activity is valuable because of the high prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military, long-term health implications including physical and emotional well-being, and the potential impact on military readiness.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 02, 2019
Accession Number
AD1110879

Entities

People

  • Ben Porter
  • Chiping Nieh
  • Connie L. Thomas
  • Cynthia A LeardMann
  • Dan G. Blazer
  • Gary Dean Gackstetter
  • Tomoko I. Hooper

Organizations

  • Naval Health Research Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Biomedical Research
  • Bulimia Nervosa
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Eating Disorders
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Disorders
  • Physical Activity
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychological Adaptation
  • Recreation
  • Sexual Assault
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Violence
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.