Corroboration of Sexual Histories among Male Homosexual Couples

Abstract

Using data from a study of human immunodeficiency virus transmission among homosexual male partners from Boston, Massachusetts, the authors compared self-reported sexual histories among 155 index-partner pairs during 1985–1988. Overall, high levels of agreement were observed for all reported sexual activities. Agreement on anal sex was very high (Spearman's r = 0.78–0.79, p ≤ 0.001; kappa = 0.76–0.88, p ≤ 0.001). Level of agreement did vary significantly by a couple's drug and alcohol use; the heavier substance user generally reported fewer sexual encounters than the lighter user. These results have important implications in sexual behavior research and show that among homosexual men, self-reports of sexual behavior may be reasonably valid. Am J Epidemiol 1992;135:79–84.