He Said, She Said

In Brief Background Most studies of sexual behavior and risk are based on self-reports of individuals. Goal The goal of this study was to assess interpartner concordance on self-reported sexual behavior, condom use, and relationship characteristics; and agreement between individuals’ perceptions of their partners’ sexual risks and the partners’ actual reports. Study Design Interviews were conducted separately but concurrently with 112 heterosexual couples at increased risk for HIV/sexually transmitted infections recruited through women at clinics and community locations. Results Couples were concordant on reports of relationship characteristics (kappa ≥0.84), sexual behavior, and condom use (r ≥0.62), but disagreed on who has more power and sexual decision-making dominance (kappa ≤0.26). We found substantial agreement between men’s perceptions and their partners’ reported risky behavior (kappa = 0.62), but only fair agreement between women’s perceptions and their partners’ reports (kappa = 0.30). Conclusion Individual self-reports could be reliable measures of sexual behavior. Additionally, prevention interventions need to address women’s misperceptions about their partners’ risky behaviors. A study examining concordance of self-reported sexual behaviors and attitudes among 112 heterosexual couples revealed high concor-dance on reports of relationship characteristics, sexual behaviors, and condom use and discordance on relationship power and sexual decision-making dominance. Substantial agreement was found between men’s perceptions of their partners’ attitudes and risky behavior and their partners’ reports; only fair agreement between women’s perceptions and their partners’ self-reports was found.