Title | Can Young Adults Accurately Report Sexual Partnership Dates? Factors Associated With Interpartner and Dyad Agreement. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2016 |
Authors | Sanchez, DM, Schoenbach, VJ, Harvey, SM, Warren, JT, Poole, C, Leone, PA, Adimora, AA, Agnew, CR |
Journal | Sex Transm Dis |
Volume | 43 |
Issue | 5 |
Pagination | 324-31 |
Date Published | 05/2016 |
ISSN | 1537-4521 |
Keywords | Adolescent, Adult, Female, Heterosexuality, HIV Infections, Humans, Male, Reproducibility of Results, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Partners, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult |
Abstract | BACKGROUND: Sexual partnership dates are critical to sexually transmitted infection/HIV research and control programs, although validity is limited by inaccurate recall and reporting. METHODS: We examined data from 302 heterosexual adults (151 index-partner dyads) to assess reliability of reporting. Dates of first sex and last sex were collected through individual interviews and joint dyad questionnaires, which were completed together with their partners. We compared index- and partner-reported dates to estimate interpartner agreement. We used log-linear regression to model associations between interpartner differences and partnership characteristics. To assess validity, we compared individually reported dates with those from joint dyad questionnaires. RESULTS: Most partnerships (66.2%) were 2 years or less in duration, and many (36.2%) were nonmonogamous. Interpartner agreement to within 1, 30, and 365 days was, respectively, 5.6%, 43.1%, and 81.3% for first sex, and 32.9%, 94.5%, and 100.0% for last sex. In adjusted models, longer relationship duration was associated with disagreement on first sex dates; partnership nonmonogamy was associated with disagreement on dates of first sex and last sex. Within dyads, several participant characteristics were associated with reporting dates closer to joint dyad responses (e.g., for first sex date, female sex [54.7%], having fewer sex partners [58.5%], and greater relationship commitment [57.3%]). However, percent agreement to within 30, 60, and 90 days was similar for all groups for both first and last sex dates. CONCLUSIONS: Agreement was high on date of last sex but only moderate on date of first sex. Methods to increase accuracy of reporting of dates of sex may improve STI research. |
DOI | 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000428 |
Alternate Journal | Sex Transm Dis |
PubMed ID | 27100770 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC4840468 |
Grant List | F31 HD068126 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States R01 HD047151 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States F31HD068126 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States R01HD47151 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States 1K24HD059358 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States K24 HD059358 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States |