HIV is frequently transmitted in the context of partners in a committed relationship, with a rate of transmission among discordant couples 5 to 17 times higher than incidence rate among HIV concordant negative couples. The aim of this contribution is to review the literature in order to investigate the role that couple psychosexual counseling may have as a HIV prevention strategy and as a tool to enhance the relational and psychological wellbeing of serodiscordant couples.
The paper provides a theoretical contribution to HIV prevention interventions. The Authors have consulted the main scientific search engines such as Medline and PsychInfo, taking into account recent publications from 2000 to 2010. Literature analysis underlines the efficacy of couple psychosexual counseling in HIV prevention. As knowledge is not sufficient to stop risky behaviour, couple counseling should address the dynamic and interactional forces within dyads that contribute to sexual risks (such as gender roles, communication styles and quality of relationship).
There is a growing consensus that HIV prevention should address couples as a unit of behavior change. This kind of intervention represents an effective HIV prevention strategy but it could also be an optimal tool to enhance the relational and psychological wellbeing of serodiscordant couples.
REFERENCES: Burton, J., Darbes, L. A., Operario, D., (2010). Couple-Focused Behavioral Interventions for Prevention of HIV: Systematic Review of the State of Evidence. AIDS Behav, 14:1-10.
Harman, J. J., Amico, K. R., (2009) The relationship-oriented information-motivation-behavioral skills model: a multilevel structural equation model among dyads. AIDS Behav, 13:173-184.