141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Online Program

290119
Use of the actor-partner interdependence model to better understand the sexual health of gay male couples


Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 1:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Jeffrey T. Parsons, PhD, Department of Psychology and the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY
Tyrel Starks, PhD, Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY
Background: The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) is a multi-level modeling approach that distinguishes between level-one (individual level) and level-two (couple-level) variables, enabling examination of actor effects (relationship between a participant's score on a criterion variable and his score on a predictor variable) and partner effects (relationship between a participant's score on a criterion variable and his partner's score on a predictor variable). In this talk, two applications of the APIM will be used to examine the sexual health of gay male couples.

Methods: Gay men were surveyed at large events in New York City and Los Angeles; 172 matched gay male couples (N = 344) completed surveys including the Sexual Compulsivity Scale, the Adult Attachment Scale, and the Dyadic Sexual Communication Scale.

Results: APIM results suggested that participants reporting higher levels of sexual compulsivity (SC) also reported diminished sexual communication quality and an increased number of casual male sex partners with whom they had unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). In addition, men whose partners reported higher levels of SC reported more UAI casual sex partners. In separate analyses, securely attached men reported higher levels of sexual communication and fewer UAI casual sex partners. Avoidant attachment was strongly associated with UAI casual sex partners, and men whose partners were avoidant attached reported lower sexual communication.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate the relevance of both SC and attachment to the sexual health of partnered gay men and illustrate the ability of the APIM to identify both within-person (actor effects) and between-partner (partner effects) associations.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Explain the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and how it can be used to examine both individual and couple-level factors related to sexual health in gay male couples. Identify the specific actor and partner effects between sexual compulsivity and sexual risk, and between attachment style and sexual satisfaction and communication.

Keyword(s): Gay Men, Sexual Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Starks has published broadly in the field of HIV prevention and focused specifically on substance use as a predictor of HIV risk behavior. In addition, he has extensive experience in the analysis of dyadic data, including the use of the actor-partner interdependence model with exchangeable and distinguishable dyads.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5179.0: Sexual minority men’s health (including gay and bisexual men)