The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

TABLE 9. Percent of male and female subjects reporting sexual
behaviors to male and female interviewers (N = 93)
Sexual Behavior
Male respondents
Vaginal intercourse, past 30 days
Used condoms some, past 30 days
Used condoms 100 percent, past 30 days
Oral sex, past 30 days
Anal intercourse, past 6 months
Female respondents
Vaginal intercourse, past 30 days
Used condoms some, past 30 days
Used condoms 100 percent, past 30 days
Oral sex, past 30 days
Anal intercourse, past 6 months
Male Female
interviewer interviewer
82.1 75.9
26.1 40.9
21.7 27.3
55.6 55.2
17.9 10.3
89.5 64.7 †
35.3 54.6
5.9 27.3 †
44.4 64.7
15.8 5.9
† Differences between male and female interviewers significant at
p < 0.10.
DISCUSSION
The present study yielded some indirect but nevertheless interesting
information concerning the probable validity of self-reported risk
behavior. The pattern of findings across the experiments suggested that
the most threatening questions for respondents were the items pertaining
to sharing of injection equipment. Answers to questions about borrowing
of syringes appeared to be less reliable than questions about sexual
practices and much more strongly correlated with social desirability.
Also, there appeared to be a large discrepancy between respondents’
reports of their own injection behavior and the behavior of fellow drug
users whom they had the opportunity to observe.
Among the sexual variables, questions about oral and anal sex proved to
be the most sensitive, while respondents’ answers to questions about
condoms appeared to be both reasonably reliable and uncontaminated by
self-presentation bias. This finding is encouraging, since oral sex may be
less risky than other sexual practices, such as unprotected vaginal
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