Reliability of sexual histories in heterosexual couples.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Reliability of responses between partners was used as a surrogate to examine the validity of self-reported sexual histories in two samples with different risk and demographic profiles and different intensities of contact with study staff.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective self-report data were compared between partners and between samples.

RESULTS

Despite differences between the two groups, reliability of the sexual history data was comparable.

CONCLUSIONS

Further study is needed to examine other methodologies for collecting sensitive data. Intensive contact and rapport building may not be necessary.