Do Male Couples Agree on Their Sexual Agreements? An Analysis of Dyadic Data. 2019

Akshay Sharma, and Robert Garofalo, and Marco A Hidalgo, and Samuel Hoehnle, and Matthew J Mimiaga, and Emily Brown, and Jennie Thai, and Anna Bratcher, and Taylor Wimbly, and Patrick S Sullivan, and Rob Stephenson
Center for Sexuality and Health Disparities, University of Michigan, 400 N Ingalls St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. akshaydr@umich.edu.

Male couples often formulate sexual agreements, but little is known about the extent to which partners concur about their exact terms. Disagreements, particularly with respect to sex outside the relationship, may induce stress and potentially increase the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Our study sought to describe concordance between male partners on several aspects of their sexual agreements, overall, as well as stratified by dyadic HIV serostatus and relationship duration. Between July 2014 and May 2016, we collected bidirectional data from 160 male couples residing in Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago. Overall, we observed weak concordance for whether or not couples had a mutual agreement about sex with outside partners. Even among 110 couples in which both partners reported having an agreement, there was weak-to-moderate concordance for general rules that might apply to having sex outside the relationship (e.g., forming emotional relationships is not allowed, outside sexual activities must be disclosed), and for specific sexual behaviors allowed or disallowed (e.g., topping without a condom, bottoming without a condom). Concordance for the type of sexual agreement was higher within HIV seroconcordant negative partnerships compared to HIV serodiscordant partnerships, and lower within relationships ≥ 5 years and 1 to < 5 years compared to those < 1 year. Dyadic interventions for male couples (e.g., couples HIV testing and counseling, relationship education programs) can offer unique opportunities for skills building around negotiating sexual agreements and might especially benefit HIV serodiscordant partnerships, and those in the formative stages of their relationships.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D012725 Sexual Behavior Sexual activities of humans. Anal Sex,Oral Sex,Sexual Activity,Sexual Orientation,Premarital Sex Behavior,Sex Behavior,Sex Orientation,Sexual Activities,Activities, Sexual,Activity, Sexual,Behavior, Premarital Sex,Behavior, Sex,Behavior, Sexual,Orientation, Sexual,Sex, Anal,Sex, Oral
D012747 Sexual Partners Married or single individuals who share sexual relations. Multiple Partners Sexual,Multiple Sex Partners,Multiple Sexual Partners,Sex Partners,Partner, Sex,Partner, Sexual,Sex Partner,Sex Partner, Multiple,Sex Partners, Multiple,Sexual Partner,Sexual Partner, Multiple
D055815 Young Adult A person between 19 and 24 years of age. Adult, Young,Adults, Young,Young Adults
D018451 Homosexuality, Male Sexual attraction or relationship between males. Male Homosexuality

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