Abstract
Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy of the 2GETHER relationship education and HIV prevention program for young male couples in reducing the risk for HIV. Method: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 2GETHER relative to an attention-matched and highly active positive affect enhancement program for couples.We randomized 128 young male couples (N= 256) to 2GETHER or control from 2017 to 2021. Primary biomedical outcome (i.e., rectal chlamydia and gonorrhea) was measured at baseline and 12 months and self-reported condomless anal sex was measured every 3 months across 12-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were other HIV prevention and risk behaviors, relationship functioning, and substance use. We used multilevel models in MPlus to account for clustering with dyads and within-person change over time. Effects of time (for self-reported outcomes) were modeled using latent growth curves at the between-couple level. Results: We observed no differences between conditions in outcomes, but there was a significant change in outcomes across 12 months. Rates of rectal sexually transmitted infections and self-reported condomless anal sex decreased significantly in both conditions. We also observed significant increases in HIV testing, improvement in relationship communication, and reduction in alcohol-related problems in both conditions across 12 months. Conclusion: Couples in both the 2GETHER and positive affect enhancement programs showed improvement in biomedical and behavioral indicators of HIV risk, as well as improvement in relationship communication, but without a treatment effect we cannot conclude improvement resulted from the interventions. Couple-based programs that promote connectedness, including relationship education and positive affect enhancement, have a strong potential to reduce young couples’ HIV risk.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 297-309 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Health Psychology |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2025 |
Funding
This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA024065; Principal Investigator: Michael E. Newcomb). REDCap is supported at the Feinberg School of Medicine by the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Health\u2019s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL 1TR001422; Principal Investigator: R. D\u2019Aquila). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. The authors would like to thank the study staff for their contributions, including James Carey, Emily Bettin, Adam Conway, Christopher Garcia, Ricky Hill, Kyle Jozsa, Junye Ma, Cole Price, Afiya Sajwani, Hallie Tolo, and Arielle Zimmerman. Finally, we would like to thank the study participants for their time. The authors have no known conflicts of interest to disclose. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier NCT03186534).
Keywords
- HIV
- couples
- positive affect
- relationship education
- young sexual minority men
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
