Premilitary sexual assault and attrition in the U.S. Navy

Abstract

A prospective study examined whether adult premilitary sexual victimization predicted women's military attrition. In a survey of female Navy recruits (N = 2,431), 56% reported some form of adult unwanted sexual contact before entering the military, with 25% reporting completed rape. Approximately one-third of respondents left the Navy before completing their 4-year term of service. When rape, attempted rape, and lower-level unwanted sexual contact were considered simultaneously, only rape predicted attrition. Women who reported premilitary rape, compared with those who did not, were 1.69 times more likely to leave the military. The pattern of results held across the 4-year period examined and after controlling for demographic predictors.