Power and Attitudes in Relationships (PAIR) among a sample of low-income, African-American women: Implications for HIV/AIDS prevention

This study describes a scale that was designed to measure low-income urban, heterosexual women's perception of Power and Attitudes in Relationships (PAIR). Although frequently mentioned in the literature as an important aspect of women's risk for HIV there are few described scales which measure such attitudes among this population. PAIR was based in part on Connell's (1987) Theory of gender and power. PAIR was found to be reliable (alpha = 0.79) among a Baltimore cross-sectional sample of inner-city women (n = 417), half of whom were HIV-negative and half were HIV-positive. Our findings suggest that PAIR is reliable among both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected inner-city women. The scale can be a useful tool in understanding the interpersonal contest of women's risk of HIV.