Do Men and Women Report Their Sexual Partnerships Differently? Evidence from Kisumu, Kenya

Abstract

CONTEXT It is generally believed that men and women misreport their sexual behaviors, which undermines the ability of researchers, program designers and health care providers to assess whether these behaviors compromise individuals’ sexual and reproductive health. METHODS Data on 1,299 recent sexual partnerships were collected in a 2007 survey of 1,275 men and women aged 18–24 and living in Kisumu, Kenya. Chi-square and t tests were used to examine how sample selection bias and selective partnership reporting may result in gender differences in reported sexual behaviors. Correlation coefficients and kappa statistics were calculated in further analysis of a sample of 280 matched marital and nonmarital couples to assess agreement on reported behaviors. RESULTS Even after adjustment for sample selection bias, men reported twice as many partnerships as women (0.5 vs. 0.2), as well as more casual partnerships. However, when selective reporting was controlled for, aggregate gender differences in sexual behaviors almost entirely disappeared. In the matched-couples sample, men and women exhibited moderate to substantial levels of agreement for most relationship characteristics and behaviors, including type of relationship, frequency of sex and condom use. Finally, men and women tended to agree about whether men had other nonmarital partners, but disagreed about women’s nonmarital partners. CONCLUSIONS Both sample selection bias and selective partnership reporting can influence the level of agreement between men’s and women’s reports of sexual behaviors. Although men report more casual partners than do women, accounts of sexual behavior within reported relationships are generally reliable.

Sexual risk after HIV diagnosis: a comparison of pre‐ART individuals with CD4>500 cells/µl and ART‐eligible individuals in a HIV treatment and care programme in rural KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa

“…It is possible that social desirability influenced the self-reports of sexual behaviours in this study. Other studies in Africa report that men tend to over- and women under-report sexual partnerships [33–35]. However, a sizable proportion of respondents in this study still report sexual behaviours known to be a risk for onward HIV transmission, despite standard counselling and prevention messaging at the clinic, suggesting that social desirability is relatively low in this rural population.…”

Antiretroviral Treatment and Sexual Risk Behavior in South Africa

“…Given the wide-scale general population knowledge about HIV and the numerous health education campaigns that have been conducted in South Africa, there is substantial reason to expect that self-report may be more conservative than true sexual behavior (though there is some question as to whether females under-report sexual activity while males over-report sexual activity[40]). Of greatest concern is the potential that participants who are on ART and therefore receiving counseling on safe sex are more likely to under-report their sexual activity than those who are not in regular care.…”

Short-Term Mobility and the Risk of HIV Infection among Married Couples in the Fishing Communities along Lake Victoria, Kenya

“…This is despite the factor that most HIV infection in Sub-Saharan Africa is primarily through unprotected heterosexual intercourse with infected partners [38]. Traditionally, measuring the number of sexual partners has been a complicated exercise in research on sexual behaviour [39], [40]. Gender inequalities in most cultures result in greater restrictions on women’s sexual autonomy than on men’s.…”