Self-report sexual risk behaviors
Self-report sexual risk behaviors are a cornerstone of reproductive health–related research, particularly when related to assessing risk-related outcomes such as pregnancy or acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV. Despite their frequency of use, the utility of self-report measures to provide an accurate account of actual behavior are questioned, and methods of enhancing their accuracy should be a critical focus when administering such measures. Self-reported assessments of sexual behavior are prone to a number of measurement concerns which may affect the reliability and validity of a measure, ranging from a participant's literacy level and comprehension of behavioral terminology to recall biases and self-presentation (or confidentiality concerns resulting from stigmatization of the behavior in question). Therefore, the decision to incorporate a self-report measure of sexual risk behaviors is often one of practicality. Self-report measures are both inexpensive and more feasible than behavioral observation given the private nature of most sexual risk behaviors. To this end, the validity of self-reported sexual risk measures can be strengthened by the level of concordant answers obtained from sexual partners or through more objective measures of risk (such as the incidence of pregnancy, HIV or other STDs. It is important to consider the way