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 (P AIR). Although frequently mentioned in the literature as an important aspec t 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), hal f of whom were HIV-negative and half were HIV-positive. Our findings sugges t that PAIR is reliable among both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected inner-ci ty women. The scale can be a useful tool in understanding the interpersonal contest of women's risk of HIV.