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