Table IV.

Representative quotes of key themes in dyad interviews

Themes and definitions	Quotes
Valuing safer sex Emphasizing the importance of engaging in safer sex in general	1. Ingrid: It's always been an influence to me to have my friends. And all of them say wear condoms—well not me, but you know, my [male] partner—make sure that he wears condoms. Be protected, and if you need money for condoms or something, I'll let you borrow some money or I'll buy them for you.
Endorsing and monitoring condom use Emphasizing condoms and checking on friends’ condom use	2. Ian: She always asks me, ‘Did you use a condom? Are you being protected?’ I'm like, ‘Yes, Ingrid’. Sometimes I'm like, ‘Yes, Ingrid, yes. Leave me alone’ [laughs]. But at the same time, it's like, ‘Thank you for caring’.
	3. Jerry: Condoms? We don't even talk about it like that. Like, ‘condoms are the safe way to go’.
Condom talk: limited in nuance Communicating about condom use in ways that lack specificity or follow through	Jason: Yea we don't talk like that.
	Jerry: We pretty much just know.
	Jason: Yeah, just know.
‘Monogamy will protect you’ script	4. David: Be monogamous—that's one of the biggest things I've learned cause as you know as she's said … you know don't go and with all these different guys. I think that's the biggest thing that's changed [because of his friendship with Diana].
Assuming that a committed relationship eliminates HIV risk
‘Knowing him will protect you’ script	5. Gertrude: If you really know the person then you don't really have to worry about [STDs] … , cause if you really know the person, you know that they don't have anything cause you know them for a long time. Like I told Gary—he used to go find some random persons—you don't know anything ‘cause you just met that person. So, I mean he has a lot more risks … I still think he needs to learn from my example.
Assuming that gaining information about a potential sexual partner confers safety from HIV
Mini sexual history takers Making efforts to gather concrete information about a partner's prior sexual experiences	6. Hermione: We just have to trust the person, feel comfortable, feel like they are who they say they are. May be having a little bit of history, like who they've been with somewhat.
	7. Ingrid: Since I've only had one partner and I knew for a fact that I was his first, it didn't apply so much to me at the time. But if I were to date somebody new and he's like, ‘I've had sex with three girls prior to you’ then definitely I would have to talk to Ian and be like, ‘This guy's not a virgin and he claims that he's had sex with girls. What do I do about that?’
Stay away from ‘whores’ and ‘sluts’ script Assuming that avoiding ‘promiscuous’ partners will confer protection against HIV	8. Interviewer: How if at all, do you guys talk about HIV? Odie: Only on that one occasion because she has a very low chance of catching HIV. I think it's more me …Olivia: Then he doesn't really sleep around so it's just …
	Odie: Just that one incidence I didn't use a condom and we knew that guy.
	Interviewer: And when you say that Olivia has a low chance of catching HIV what do you mean?
	Odie: Because the people she usually fools around with aren't
	… junkies or they're not usually bisexual lovers. They're like, better. The people we go for are usually not trashy dirty … . They usually aren't that kind of way. Interviewer: When you say ‘kind of know’, what do you mean? Odie: Not ‘kind of’. We knew he didn't.Interviewer: How did you know? Odie: I asked him. Olivia: We knew him.
	9. Interviewer: You used condoms? Rex: Yeah cause Steve's a whore and that would be just— Ryan: I couldn't even believe you were having sex with him! Rex: He was a cute whore. And that would just have been horrible wrong, dangerous … It wasn't worth the risk.
Condom use ‘no matter what’ script	10. Tom: Even with the guy I was with two years … . We're going to use condoms because, I know I'm not cheating on you and I'm holding it down for you but you're out there and you're still a man. So I trust you, I love you but I got to face reality. I say, ‘You here with me every day? Put on a condom’.
Emphasizing the value of using condoms, even with partners who are known and trusted	11. Kim: When I'm in a monogamous relationship then I don't use a condom. Ken: Yeah and I tell her that you should wear a condom every time because … you don't know if they're cheating or not. Kim: If they're cheating, I know. But that's why there's a trust factor in the relationship. Ken: Yeah but Kim, you shouldn't trust people like that. You know I tell you that.
Reassuring friends after unprotected sex	12. Art: I came to [best friend] Anthony and I asked him ‘I didn't use a condom and I'm scared’, and he's like ‘Is he a virgin?’ and I'm like, ‘I am really positive he's a virgin’ and he's like, ‘Have you been tested?’ and I'm like, ‘Yeah I got tested like two months ago and it was negative’ and he's like ‘Then you don't have to worry about it. As long as you're both negative, you can have sex all you want without a condom’.
Assuring a friend that an incident of unprotected sex was low risk