The study consisted of 20 African American men age 16 to 24 years who lived in one urban metropolitan area and reported having a history of sex with another male. Participants received a 15-minute baseline paper survey which assessed participant demographics, relationship history, and sexual health items derived from prior studies assessing STI/HIV risk in adolescent MSM (Leonard et al., 2010). They also participated in an in-depth, one-on-one audio-recorded 90-120 minute interview administered by a female interviewer in a private office located in an adolescent health clinic. Each participant received a $45 visa gift card for compensation.

The semi-structured interview guide focused on participants’ sexual experiences, dating experiences, and relationship history. The interview guide was developed with consultation from a team that included a qualitative researcher, an expert in sexual development, and researchers with experience working with young same-sex attracted men. The interview guide was grounded in phenomenological and constructivist frameworks (Schutz, 1970). These frameworks use questions to elicit content and meaning about experiences; and, participants are able to elaborate on responses, provide their own definitions based on life experiences and perceptions, and clarify ideas and feelings experienced within relationships (Schutz, 1970).

All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Topical summaries of a select sample of interviews and participant surveys were written. These summaries were completed early in the analytic process and were combined with memoing about emergent topics to help guide data discussions. After discussing preliminary findings, thematic codes were developed to categorize the transcripts and develop a codebook. These initial rounds of coding and data discussion with the research team were a weekly iterative process. Once consensus was reached, the first author continued inductive open coding using a grounded theory approach such that emergent concepts were connected across interviews and major themes were identified (Charmaz & Belgrave, 2002). The first and last author independently coded the remaining transcripts using the revised codebook, and reconvened to resolve any coding disagreements to insure high percent agreement between coded sections (Kappa statistic ≥0.90) (Campbell, Quincy, Osserman, & Pedersen, 2013).

Participants described partner selection as a process that included: (1) seeking different types of partners and (2) using different venues to meet partners. Partner selection was largely influenced by partner characteristics such as physical features (e.g., masculine, attractive, or well-built), romantic features (e.g., trust-worthy and good communicator), and other partner factors including age, social status, and geographic location.

Participants described their relationship expectations as: (1) characteristics of romantic and sex-only relationships, and (2) relationship development.

Most participants expressed having rules for condom use based on partner characteristics and relationship type. Participants described using condoms with sex-only partners, and not using condoms with romantic partners.

“[Rules in sex-only relationships] use protection...you’re partners to this person but you’re not attached.”

Participants described that the use, or non-use, of condoms was an indicator of the seriousness of a relationship and the level of trust they had in their partner. However, they also revealed how quickly this rule changed within a relationship, which most often led to inconsistent condom use rather than consistent condom use. As one participant stated, “Like, me and this person get along really, really well and we can have sex, and not have to worry about other people in the relationship. Because the first time we had sex, we didn’t use a condom. Well no, a lot times we haven’t used a condom, but after like, I had gotten locked up and saw what he was doing on Facebook…it’s just when you set certain guidelines [and] the person breaking them, there’s an issue.” Others similarly described that feeling connected to a partner led them to not use condoms, but that a lack of trust would cause them to use condoms. Commonly, participants described situations where they were torn between feeling connected to their partner and thus not wanting to use condoms, and not trusting their partner to be monogamous. Younger participants, who had romantic relationships with older partners, acknowledged that they struggled to consistently apply condom rules with these partners, yet they sought older partners to gain access to the larger gay community and the benefits that came with being with a more established partner.

Participants met most of their partners on the Internet or local telephone chat lines. Most participants preferred to meet men on a telephone chat line because they believed these men were safer than men met through the Internet. This finding contradicts previous research with young MSM which showed a stronger preference for meeting partners on the Internet (Bolding, Davis, Hart, Sherr, & Elford, 2007; Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis, & Sprecher, 2012). One plausible explanation for this discrepancy is the recent increase in the use of mobile-based or Global Positioning System (GPS) applications for partner seeking (Grosskopf, LeVasseur, & Glaser, 2014). Mobile-based or GPS applications combine the functionality of Internet dating websites—sort and search by partner preferences/characteristics—with the instantaneous and geographically close nature of local telephone chat lines. These mobile-based applications may also increase the ability for men to cycle through multiple intense relationships in a short period of time (Finkel et al., 2012), before commitment or condom use rules can be established.

The association between relationship expectations and partner type emerged as a critical factor in understanding condom use practices among participants. Participants’ discussed the contention between their desires for romantic relationships to develop slowly, from friendship, and their previous relationship experiences. Our findings suggest that participants’ desires for a serious committed relationship may influence relationship expectations and condom use. There are a few plausible explanations for why some participants felt they could not consistently follow their relationship and condom use rules. One plausible explanation is that they may believe an encounter is sex-only, but after connecting, meeting, and being intimate, they begin to believe the relationship is becoming romantic (i.e., serious) and decide not to use condoms to how serious they are about the relationship.

Another explanation for participants not consistently following their condom rules is the use of the Internet and its effect on communication and relationship patterns (Nodin, Carballo-Diéguez, & Leal, 2014; Turkle, 2004). Participants did not explicitly discuss how using the Internet to find partners changed their sexual or relationship behaviors; however, previous literature indicates that the Internet has an impact on MSM sexual behaviors (Adam, Murphy, & de Wit, 2011; Bauermeister, 2012; Nodin et al., 2014). Lastly, observed age differences in relationship development showed that younger participants desired relationships that started with friendship, while older participants discussed relationships that began as sex-only or casual. These differences are important to note as a recent study of young African American MSM showed that younger men are seeking older partners for the financial and emotional support they receive from being with an older and more established partner, whereas older young men are seeking sex-only partners (Arrington-Sanders et al., 2013). These findings suggest that younger African American MSM may be desiring romantic relationships, believing they are meeting men with similar desires, and are instead meeting older young men interested in sex-only relationships.

There are several limitations to this study. Findings from this study may not be transferable as we examined themes among a small sample of young African American MSM who reside in an urban community with high rates of HIV and other STIs. However, our goal was not to generalize, but to examine the meaning-making and thought processes that occur among this particular group of men to better understand relationship expectations, experiences, and condom use. We did not prospectively examine how relationships changed over time, which limits our ability to draw conclusions when relationships during early adolescence may be different from relationships during late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Lastly, we relied on non-dyadic data to assess relationship factors. Dyadic data would allow for a more thorough analysis of participant relationships by providing access to their partners’ relationship expectations and behaviors.

Despite these limitations, our findings fill a significant gap in the literature describing romantic relationships and condom use among young African American MSM. This work suggests that it is equally important to explore why young African American MSM relationship expectations and experiences influence sexual risk behaviors. Additional research is needed to determine if our findings can be replicated in a more heterogeneous sample of young MSM. Additionally, more research is needed to determine available resources for role modeling of healthy romantic relationships for young African American men. Understanding how healthy romantic relationships develop may address some of the discrepancy that exists between relationship experiences and desires.

Overall, greater understanding of romantic relationships among young African American MSM is needed in order to have an effect on HIV disparities. From a research perspective, more qualitative research is needed to better understand how relationship expectations and experiences develop with this population across partnerships. Additional dyadic qualitative research is needed to better understand the steps involved in partner selection and relationship development. This research may reveal how and when differential relationship expectations develop, and how young African American MSM communicate or respond to these differences. Public health campaigns may maximize their effectiveness by considering how the relationship experiences and desires of young African American MSM can be incorporated into prevention strategies. These strategies may include providing young men with tools to facilitate partner communication and condom negotiation—even in romantic relationships, and increasing awareness of the HIV testing window for detectability.