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To date, there are no studies of health-related social control conducted with gay couples. Previous work suggests that positive, direct and bilateral tactics are associated with health-enhancing behavior changes, while negative, indirect and unilateral tactics are not. Particular styles of social control tactic use appear to be more effective than others. The tactics that are viewed as most successful by marital partners may be best conceptualized as capitalizing on the interdependent and communal nature of intimate relationships, rather than the simple exercise of power. In addition, spouses use a variety of social control tactics to influence their partners' health behaviors. Research with married couples indicates that marital partners attempt to influence a variety of health practices, many of which are related to the prevention of disease and promotion of good health. Previous research has found that social control is associated with the practice of fewer health-compromising behaviors and more health-enhancing behaviors. First, what kinds of social control tactics do gay partners use in their attempts to change each others' health-related behaviors? Second, do gay partners use different social control tactics for HIV-related behaviors and for other health-related behaviors in their attempts to change each others' behavior? Third, do constructs from interdependence theory, such as relationship interdependence and comparison level for alternatives (CL-alt), distinguish either the types of behaviors that gay partners target for change or the social control tactics that they use in attempts to change each others' health behaviors? Social control and influence tactic use among gay couples Using a mixed-methods approach that combined a qualitative approach with quantitative methods, the study addressed three questions. Health-related social control refers to interactions between social network members, or in the present case partners, that involve explicit attempts to regulate and influence health behaviors. To this end, the present study examines health-related social control among gay male couples. Understanding the influence tactics gay couples use to regulate each others' health behaviors generally, and HIV-related behavior specifically, could inform interventions capitalizing on gay men's intimate relationships to prevent HIV infection and promote health in general. Finally, partners can potentially conceal sex outside the relationship from each other, and therefore may be harder to regulate within the relationship. Discussing sexual behavior also may be more emotional than other health behaviors, such as physical activity, because sex is viewed as a sign of intimacy and trust. Sexual behavior within and outside the relationship may be difficult to discuss or threatening to the relationship. It may be the case that HIV risk behaviors are the subject of different types of influence tactics compared with other health behaviors. Second, understanding how gay couples function to influence health is also important because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has had a disproportionate effect on the gay community. This suggests that involving partners in interventions to change health behaviors may be a high-impact leverage point. The lack of macro-support, coupled with lower network support, makes understanding how relationship functioning and influence get enacted in gay couples paramount, because the partner may be the most influential person in each other's life. Moreover, gay couples also report less social support from family and friends, suggesting that their socio-emotional needs are more likely to be met within the relationship. First, gay couples lack the macrolevel institutional supports which may make them more dependent on their relationship, and partners are thus more likely to be an important source of interpersonal influence. Understanding how gay couples function to promote and influence health is important for two reasons. This is especially true for gay couple relationships, which have not been subject to much study. The interpersonal mechanisms that explain the health advantage of close relationships remain poorly understood. Many fields have demonstrated that involvement in close relationships confers a health advantage.