Session: Power in Sexual Relationships: Focus on the U.S

4228.0: Tuesday, October 23, 2001: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM

Oral Session

Power in Sexual Relationships: Focus on the U.S

An emerging public health priority is strengthening women’s ability to protect themselves from HIV/STDs and to negotiate safer sex behaviors with their heterosexual partners. Male condoms are currently the only widely accepted method for preventing the transmission of HIV and other STDs for sexually active individual. Some men are unwilling to use condoms and, due to gender-based power imbalances, some women may be unable to negotiate use. Several researchers have suggested that women are likely to have difficulty in negotiating safer sex strategies with their male partners because of perceived imbalances in relationship power. Findings from studies are, however, mixed and inconclusive. Some studies suggest that overall power imbalances in interpersonal relationships are not major obstacles to safer sex behaviors. Other studies suggest that powerlessness in sexual relationships increases the likelihood that condoms will not be used. Differences in findings may in part be attributed to how relationship power and dominance are conceptualized and the use of different samples and measures. Additional research is needed to improve understanding of the role relationship power and decision-making play in women’s safer sex behavior.

See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement.

Learning Objectives: Refer to the individual abstracts for learning objectives

Presider(s):

Marie Harvey, DrPH

Discussant(s):

Marie Harvey, DrPH

2:30 PM

Application of a theory of gender and power to understand women's risk of HIV
Gina Wingood, ScD, MPH

2:45 PM

The association between relationship power and safer sex behaviors: What do we know?
Cabral Rebecca, PhD

3:00 PM

Issues in defining and conceptualizing power in HIV/STD research
Johanna Soet, MA, CHES