Long-Term Couples Survey

Interview Questions

The interviews were based on the questions below. 

• Briefly, how would you characterize your relationship?

• What do you value most about it?

• How much time do the two of you spend together? What type of activities do you do together? What type of activities do you do separately?

• How and when did you decide as a couple to open your relationship sexually?

• What has been the evolution of this issue and how have you handled it as a couple?

• On a scale of 1 to 10 (1=Fervent Monogamy; 10=Anything Goes), how would you rate your inclination when you first became a couple?

• On a scale of 1 to 10 (1=Fervent Monogamy; 10=Anything Goes), how would you rate your inclination now?

• What rules or norms, if any, have you created as a couple around outside sex?

• What restrictions (if any) do you have around emotional involvement?

• What information gets shared?

• What has been hardest (if anything) about navigating this issue?

• What have you found is most important/most helpful?

• In what significant ways has ‘outside’ sex impacted your relationship?

• How frequently do you discuss ‘relationship issues or potential concerns’ (1 = we avoid discussing if at all possible; 10 = we process ad nauseum)?

• Demographic Data: Short answer questions including Age, Ethnicity, HIV status, occupation, frequency of sex, whether or not practice safe sex.