Table 1.
Descriptive Overview of the Primary Analytic Samples
| Variables | Sexual Relationship Sample (Women) | Matched-Couple Sample (Women) | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Range | Mean/Proportion (standard deviation) | Mean/Proportion (standard deviation) | |
| Sociodemographic Background | |||
| Age | 15 to 25 | 21.50 (2.99) |
21.87 (2.76) |
| SES Score (standardized) | −3.37 to 8.27 | −.36 (2.19) |
−.62 (1.85) |
| Years of Education | 0 to 12 | 7.48 (2.89) |
6.77 (2.72) |
| Attends Religious Services at Least Weekly | Binary | 64.3% | 61.8% |
| Distance from Town (standardized) | −1.27 to 4.33 | .12 (.99) |
.27 (.98) |
| Relationship Background | |||
| Currently Married | Binary | 78.0% | 91.6% |
| In a Non-marital Relationship | Binary | 22.0% | 8.4% |
| Relationship Duration (in Years) | .25 to 12.12 | 4.78 (3.24) |
5.51 (3.04) |
| Lifetime Number of Partners | 1 to 10 | 1.91 (1.29) |
1.81 (1.13) |
| Respondent Had Premarital Sex | Binary | 87.9% | 87.2% |
| Age at First Sex | 8 to 24 | 15.84 (2.29) |
15.64 (2.16) |
| Relationship Sequence Measures | |||
| Experienced Sequence Length | 1 to 16 | 7.60 (3.39) |
7.85 (3.38) |
| Ideal Sequence Length | 3 to 16 | 9.67 (3.75) |
10.21 (3.40) |
| Distance between Experience and Own Ideal | .65 to 1.96 | 1.48 (.22) |
1.50 (.22) |
| Distance between Experience and Normative Ideal |
.29 to 1.94 | 1.37 (.29) |
1.33 (.30) |
| Measures of Relationship Well-Being | |||
| Strongly Agree: “My Partner Shows Me that He Cares about Me” |
Binary | 82.7% | 84.3% |
| Strongly Agree: “My Partner and I Discuss Important Matters Together” |
Binary | 79.1% | 81.9% |
| Likelihood of Infection within 1 Yeara | 0 to 10 | 3.62 (3.25) |
3.64 (3.20) |
| Likelihood of Union Dissolution within 1 Yearb | 0 to 10 | 1.73 (2.28) |
1.83 (2.28) |
| N | 817 | 405 | |
a
N = 788 (respondents with positive HIV tests excluded).
b
N = 655 (married respondents only).