A Model of Heterosexual Adaptive Relationship Functioning in South Africa: Implications for HIV Prevention Interventions

“I think it’s communication and trust and sharing everything”: Qualitative evidence for a model of healthy intimate relationships in Black women living with HIV and men in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa

“…However, future research should descriptively examine the frequency of these relationship behaviours, which will highlight what is relevant and needed in terms of CBI content. This study's findings support the relevance of three (out of four) healthy relationship factors from the Belus et al (2019b) model, in a sample of CBI-naïve participants. The emotional display/support construct did not emerge as its own primary theme in the conceptualisation of healthy relationships.…”

“…These open‐ended questions were not guided by a theoretical framework in order to draw on participants’ own personal and community conceptualisations of healthy relationships. The interview concluded with a vignette that was written to evoke the four constructs of the healthy relationships model put forth by Belus et al ( 2019b ). In response to the vignette, participants were asked to describe their impression of the relationship, indicate any healthy or unhealthy behaviours observed, examine the partners’ communication and decision‐making abilities, and indicate if trust, respect, and commitment were observed in the relationship.…”

“…An important next step of this line of research is to develop a model of healthy relationships that shows how these various relationship behaviours fit together. This was done using qualitative findings from a study conducted in a peri‐urban area of Cape Town (Belus et al, 2019b ). The proposed model of healthy relationships involved four primary relationship constructs: active relationship building, emotional support/display, communication, and problem‐solving.…”

“…Thus, the goal of this study was to build upon the work of Belus et al ( 2019b ) by assessing the relevance of their healthy relationships model to men and women who were naïve to CBIs and who were living in a semi‐rural area of KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. Prior work shows that working with couples in high‐risk communities is protective for a number of HIV‐related outcomes, yet what constitutes healthy relationships for these communities is poorly defined.…”

Supporting Treatment for Anti-Retroviral Therapy (START) Together: Protocol for a pilot, randomized, couple-based intervention to promote women's ART adherence and men's engagement in HIV care in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…Couple's relationship functioning. A 39-item self-report measure assessing factors of relationship functioning was developed based on qualitative work assessing local definitions of healthy relationships with men and women in committed relationships from Cape Town and Vulindlela communities [ 42 , 43 ]. The factors are active relationship building, open communication, and couple-level problem-solving.…”