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 > or = 0.84), sexual behavior, and condom use (r > or = 0.62), but disagreed on who has more power and sexual decision-making dominance (kappa < or = 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.