Masculine Ideology and High-Risk Behavior Among Disabled Veterans

There may be predictors for high-risk behaviors, such as alcohol abuse, aggression, and risky sexual behavior, that can help identify susceptible men. Previous research has shown that masculine ideology is linked to engaging in such high-risk behaviors (Jakupcak, Tull, & Roemer, 2005; Moore & Stuart, 2005). In addition, having a physical disability may threaten male masculinity and increase the probability of this behavior (Good, Thomson, & Brathwaite, 2005). This issue is especially important to investigate in the military population. Military personnel and veterans engage in more high-risk behaviors (Bray et al., 2006; Bray, Marsden, & Peterson, 1991). Furthermore, the number of severely disabled veterans is steadily increasing (Gawande, 2004). The current study explored the relationship between masculine ideology and high-risk behaviors in disabled veterans. Additionally, it examined disability as a potential moderator of the relationship. Participants were disabled male veterans who completed measures of masculine ideology, masculine gender role stress, disability, intimate partner aggression, alcohol use, and risky sexual behavior. Six multiple regressions and one logistic regression were conducted to test the hypotheses that masculine ideology and disability are significant predictors of hill-risk behaviors including intimate partner aggression, number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week, alcohol quantity-frequency, alcohol-related consequences, binge drinking, number of sexual partners, and use of sexual protection. Hypothesis one and two were not supported, as neither masculine ideology nor disability predicted any of the behaviors measured. The third hypothesis was not supported, as the interaction between masculine ideology and disability was not a significant predictor of any of the behaviors measured. Interestingly, age significantly predicted many of the behaviors measured. As age increased, high-risk behavior decreased. The exception was that higher ages led to less use of sexual protection. However, this was likely due to the fact that birth control was not necessary for older participants because their partners were post-menopausal. The lack of significance for the association between masculine ideology and high-risk behaviors was in contrast to prior research (Good et al., 2005; Jakupcak et al., 2005; Moore & Stuart, 2005). Limitations and suggestions for future search are discussed.