As of 2008, there are estimated to be more than 110 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, with 20 million new infections reported each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). Not only are STIs increasingly prevalent, but their impact on health and well-being can be significant. HIV, for example, directly causes the deaths of 18,000 people each year in the United States, and direct medical costs associated with STIs approach $16 billion per year (CDC, 2013). Young people aged 15 to 24 are particularly at risk, as they represent only 25% of the sexually active population, but account for 50% of newly diagnosed STIs (CDC, 2013). For young people, understanding their level of risk is crucial to maintaining their health. One strategy is to engage in safer sexual communication with one's partner, which is a type of substantive communication that may include topics such as: (a) inquiring about a partner's sexual history or revealing their own sexual history, (b) discussing and/or requesting contraceptive methods, or (c) inquiring about a partner's STI/HIV status or date of last test (Noar, Carlyle, & Christi, 2006). The rationale for this strategy is that finding out that a potential partner has engaged in risky sexual behaviors, has been sexually indiscriminate, or has not recently been tested may indicate a high level of risk of contracting an STI (Lucchetti , 1999). Additionally, by discussing risk-related topics, it also opens the door for individuals to discuss and adopt 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, ...... middle of article ...... e communication practices regarding safer sex, but in reality this is not the case. Statements that did not clearly fit into either category were ignored and not coded. Therefore, our coding is a fairly conservative estimate of. endorsement 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 between coders. Cohen ranged from 0.758 to 1.0 for all six principles for committed and casual relationships (see Table 2), the level of intercoder reliability is considered exceptional for both measures (XXX). , any inconsistencies or questions were then clarified, coders independently coded the remaining transcripts..