Sexual experiences of military conscripts at the end of the 1990s

Authors

• Osmo Kontula
• Vesa Jormanainen
• Anneli Miettinen

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23979/fypr.44946

Keywords:

sexual behavior, sexual partners, condoms, conscripst, intoxicants, habits, Finland

Abstract

The sexual socialization and sexual experiences of young men past their adolescence have been studied relatively little thus far. ln the present study, the subject was approached through surveys conducted in 1996 and 1998 in a number of garrisons. There were 984 male respondents in 1996 and 1220 in 1998. 20 years old on average. Both years, the response rate consisted of 98 percent of the conscripts selected for the study. The themes of the study were the sexual experience, number of partners and use of condoms among young men, and how these relate to the mens habits and values in general. Seventy-six percent of the men had engaged in sexual intercourse. One out of two had only one partner over the last year, and one out of four had more than one. For one out of three men. The most recent sexual itercourse occurred with a non-steady partner: Less than half of the men used a condom in their most recent sexual intercourse. The age for initiation into sexual intercourse and the number of partners were strongly correlated with whether the conscripts had secondary education and their use of intoxicants. Those who used more intoxicants, started engaging in sexual intercourse at a younger age and engaged into more relationships. Young men had steady relationships and acquired sexual experiences in accordance with their social skills and the choices the had made regarding their career.