As of 2008, there are estimated to be over 110 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, with an additional 20 million new infections reported each year (Centers for and disease prevention [CDC], 2013). Not only are STDs increasingly prevalent, but their impact on health and well-being can be significant. HIV, for example, directly leads to the deaths of 18,000 people each year in the United States, and direct medical costs associated with STDs approach $16 billion per year (CDC, 2013). Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are particularly at risk, representing only 25% of the sexually active population, but accounting for 50% of newly diagnosed STDs (CDC, 2013). For young people, therefore, understanding their risk level is essential to maintaining their health. One strategy is to engage in safer sex communication with your partner, which is a type of substantive communication that may include topics such as: (a) asking about your partner's sexual history or disclosing your own sexual history, (b) discuss and/or request contraceptive methods, or (c) inquire about a partner's STI/HIV serostatus or date of last test (Noar, Carlyle, & Christi, 2006). The rationale for this strategy is that finding that a potential partner has engaged in risky sexual behavior, has been sexually indiscriminate, or has not recently been tested may indicate a high level of risk for contracting an STI (Lucchetti, 1999). Furthermore, by discussing risk-related topics, this also opens the door for individuals to discuss and implement sexual precautions such as condoms (Anderson, Kunkel, & Dennis, 2010). While some authors have doubted the effectiveness of this strategy (e.g., Cline, Johnson, & Freeman, 1992; Metts & Fitzpatrick, ... mid-paper ... and safe sex communication practices), but that in reality it does not they do it. Statements that did not clearly fit into either category were ignored and not coded. Therefore, our coding is a fairly conservative estimate of approval and rejection of each principle. Each coder independently coded approximately 10% of the data Intercoder reliability was calculated using both simple agreement and Cohen's Kappa. Simple agreement between coders ranged from 0.98 to 1.0 and Cohen's Kappa ranged from 0.758 to 1.0 across the six principles for both committed and casual relationships (see Table 2). the level of intercoder reliability is considered exceptional for both measures (XXX). After establishing acceptable intercoder reliability, any inconsistencies or questions were clarified. Next, the coders independently coded the remaining transcripts.