About

Lynae Darbes is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, affiliated with the Center for Sexuality and Health Disparities and the Department of Health Behavior and Clinical Sciences. Her research is anchored in health psychology and behavioral medicine, focusing on how primary partners influence health behaviors that impact morbidity and mortality. She examines relationship factors such as intimacy and desired fertility that can significantly influence sexual behavior, conducting longitudinal investigations of relationship dynamics on sexual risk behavior and HIV testing among heterosexual and gay male couples both domestically and internationally. Her work incorporates social psychology and health behavior change theories, emphasizing that partners exert powerful influences on health and well-being beyond emotional support. Her goals include understanding how to leverage relationships to improve mental and physical health outcomes. Dr. Darbes is actively involved in research projects related to HIV prevention, including trials to prevent HIV among gay couples and studies on engagement in care in various African countries. She is also dedicated to education, aiming to expand students' understanding of human behavior and its impact on health, providing instruction across undergraduate and graduate levels, and mentoring students and junior faculty in research and clinical settings.

Research topics

• Social psychology
• Nursing
• Environmental health
• Gerontology
• Psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Medicine

Selected publications

• HIV‐related stigma, couple relationship quality, and mental health in sero‐discordant pregnant couples in Kenya

  Open MIND · 2026-01-01

  article

  HIV-related stigma negatively impacts the health of people who are living with HIV. Stigma may also affect sero-discordant couples where one partner is living with HIV, but the other is not. However, we know little about how HIV-related stigma and couple relationship quality jointly affect depression and anxiety in both the individual and their partner. We analyzed dyadic data from 491 sero-discordant pregnant couples in southwestern Kenya collected during 2019-2022 using Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) methods. Controlling for relationship quality, HIV-related stigma perceived by both women and men was detrimental to their own mental health as well as to their partner's mental health. High relationship quality was associated with better mental health of couple members, independent of stigma, but reporting high relationship quality did not significantly buffer the negative effect that stigma had on mental health. The partner effects of women's and men's relationship quality were sometimes in opposite directions: women's reports of higher relationship quality were negatively associated with men's depressive symptoms; however, men's reports of higher relationship quality were positively associated with higher depressive symptoms in women. These results suggest that interventions should support sero-discordant couples to resist and reduce HIV-related stigma as well as build positive couple relationships.

• HIV‐related stigma, couple relationship quality, and mental health in sero‐discordant pregnant couples in Kenya

  Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · 2026-01-28

  articleOpen access

  HIV-related stigma negatively impacts the health of people who are living with HIV. Stigma may also affect sero-discordant couples where one partner is living with HIV, but the other is not. However, we know little about how HIV-related stigma and couple relationship quality jointly affect depression and anxiety in both the individual and their partner. We analyzed dyadic data from 491 sero-discordant pregnant couples in southwestern Kenya collected during 2019-2022 using Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) methods. Controlling for relationship quality, HIV-related stigma perceived by both women and men was detrimental to their own mental health as well as to their partner's mental health. High relationship quality was associated with better mental health of couple members, independent of stigma, but reporting high relationship quality did not significantly buffer the negative effect that stigma had on mental health. The partner effects of women's and men's relationship quality were sometimes in opposite directions: women's reports of higher relationship quality were negatively associated with men's depressive symptoms; however, men's reports of higher relationship quality were positively associated with higher depressive symptoms in women. These results suggest that interventions should support sero-discordant couples to resist and reduce HIV-related stigma as well as build positive couple relationships.

  PublisherDOI

• Couple-based intervention for HIV prevention, care and treatment in South Africa: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of Simunye

  BMJ Open · 2026-05-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  INTRODUCTION: While improvements have been made across the HIV care continuum in South Africa, gaps remain. Relationship-focused couples-based approaches may be one avenue to improve HIV-related outcomes for men and women. Prior couples-based studies have been found to improve several HIV care and treatment outcomes in this context, but few have considered viral suppression as the primary outcome. We aimed to compare a couples-based motivational-interviewing intervention delivered to couples to similar content delivered to men and women in couples separately. We will test the efficacy of this approach in a randomised controlled trial. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Our goal is to enrol 270 heterosexual couples for this trial, with at least one partner living with HIV. Couples will be randomised into one of two arms, stratified by couples' HIV status. The intervention arm, Simunye ('We are one' in isiZulu), will provide two sessions of motivational information and skills regarding HIV-related behaviours to couples together, along with relationship-focused content and skills. The content is based on Partner Steps (P-steps), a couples-focused adaptation of Life Steps, an evidence-based programme shown to improve adherence and viral suppression. The control group will receive two sessions as individuals, with similar HIV-related information but without relationship-focused content. Participants will be followed up at 6, 12 and 18 months postrandomisation. The baseline questionnaire will include measures of relationship domains such as satisfaction and communication, and measures pertaining to HIV and reproductive health (eg, fertility intentions, HIV knowledge and risk perception, and sexual behaviour), and mental health (eg, depression symptoms). The primary outcome is viral suppression, based on dried blood spots. Secondary outcomes will include other aspects of treatment engagement. We will also examine hypothesised mediators of intervention participation, for example, relationship dynamics. Primary analyses will use a multilevel modelling approach, which will feature planned time-averaged comparisons of postbaseline measurements across the intervention and control groups to test the primary hypothesis. The analysis will account for the dyadic nature of the data, for example, participants nested within couples. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This trial was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa, protocol number 2/27/01/21, and the IRB at the University of Michigan (HUM 00203672). Human subjects' concerns or adverse events will be reported to both IRBs and the Data Safety and Monitoring Board. We will disseminate findings to community members and stakeholders via community meetings, as well as by conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Clinicaltrials.gov Protocol Registration NCT05231707 registered on 8 February 2022. Protocol version 2.0, 31 October 2025.

  PublisherDOI

• HIV‐related stigma, couple relationship quality, and mental health in sero‐discordant pregnant couples in Kenya

  UNC Libraries · 2026-02-06

  articleOpen access

  HIV-related stigma negatively impacts the health of people who are living with HIV. Stigma may also affect sero-discordant couples where one partner is living with HIV, but the other is not. However, we know little about how HIV-related stigma and couple relationship quality jointly affect depression and anxiety in both the individual and their partner. We analyzed dyadic data from 491 sero-discordant pregnant couples in southwestern Kenya collected during 2019-2022 using Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) methods. Controlling for relationship quality, HIV-related stigma perceived by both women and men was detrimental to their own mental health as well as to their partner's mental health. High relationship quality was associated with better mental health of couple members, independent of stigma, but reporting high relationship quality did not significantly buffer the negative effect that stigma had on mental health. The partner effects of women's and men's relationship quality were sometimes in opposite directions: women's reports of higher relationship quality were negatively associated with men's depressive symptoms; however, men's reports of higher relationship quality were positively associated with higher depressive symptoms in women. These results suggest that interventions should support sero-discordant couples to resist and reduce HIV-related stigma as well as build positive couple relationships.

  PublisherDOI

• Pathways between intimate partner violence and HIV care and treatment during pregnancy and postpartum: A qualitative study in southwestern Kenya

  2025-10-10

  articleOpen access

  Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with suboptimal HIV treatment behaviors and health outcomes among perinatal women. Less is known about the postpartum phase or how distinct types of perinatal IPV exposure may inhibit HIV-related care. We conducted a qualitative study nested within an ongoing trial among perinatal women in rural Kenya to explore the influence of IPV on adherence to HIV treatment during pregnancy and postpartum. In 2022, a trained researcher fluent in Dholuo and Kiswahili conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with women up to 2 years postpartum living with HIV and self-reported IPV in their current relationship. Digitally recorded interviews were translated into English, transcribed verbatim, and thematically coded using deductive and inductive techniques. Nearly all women reported psychological and financial IPV, the majority reported physical IPV, half reported male controlling behaviors, half reported reproductive coercion, and many reported sexual IPV. Many women described a link between IPV and their adherence to perinatal HIV care and treatment. An indirect pathway was exhibited when psychological IPV heightened mental distress, leading to non-adherence through symptoms of depression and anxiety. A second path occurred when financial IPV and withholding food led to HIV treatment challenges. A direct pathway occurred when male partners sabotaged HIV treatment or controlled women’s access to HIV care. In turn, women’s evasion of IPV through leaving home or strategic non-disclosure had unanticipated consequences for their HIV treatment. Despite enduring IPV, many women described adhering to HIV treatment to sustain good health for themselves and their children. IPV-exposed women living with HIV described multiple ways a violent relationship was detrimental to maintaining their HIV treatment. To meet global goals to end vertical transmission of HIV and improve maternal and infant health, preventing and addressing IPV within maternal health settings should be prioritized in HIV programming.

  PublisherDOI

• 104. Exploring Condom Intentions and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Urban Black Emerging Adult Males

  Journal of Adolescent Health · 2025-02-07

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring condom use intentions among urban Black emerging adult men

  Nursing Outlook · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring Condom Intentions and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Urban Black Emerging Adult Males: The Role of Nurse Practitioners

  Journal of Pediatric Health Care · 2025-08-31

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Exploration of Nakivale Refugees’ and Stakeholders’ Perceptions and Priorities of Male Engagement in Pregnancy, Childbirth, Postpartum, and Family Planning: A Qualitative Study

  Journal of Pregnancy · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Background: African refugee communities in Uganda encounter significant barriers to maternal health services, particularly regarding men's involvement in maternal health. This study explored the perspectives of African refugees and stakeholders on men's engagement in couple's maternal health decisions, utilizing an interdependence-based theoretical model as a framework. Methods: = 78) with refugee men and women. Participants were purposefully recruited to represent diverse experiences. Data were analyzed through deductive analysis to identify factors influencing men's engagement and couple's behaviors in maternal health, emphasizing predisposing factors that affect motivation and communal coping. Results: Key individual-level factors influencing engagement included men's financial status, mental health, and peer/community influence. At the couple level, closeness, trust, commitment, communication, and joint household decision-making were crucial for fostering male participation. Couples with a high transformation of motivation viewed maternal health as a shared concern rather than an individual one. Those practicing effective communal coping, discussing and jointly deciding to address maternal health issues, also expressed higher engagement in health-promoting behaviors, such as saving for birth, attending antenatal visits together, utilizing family planning, and sharing household chores. Conclusions: Maternal health should be reframed as a shared responsibility between partners, not solely women's issue. To effectively engage African refugee couples and improve outcomes, interventions must prioritize men's involvement alongside women-focused efforts, eventually addressing couples together. These initiatives should enhance men's financial literacy, mental health, knowledge, and relationship quality to foster equitable discussions, decisions, and behaviors between refugee couples.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Pathways between intimate partner violence and HIV care and treatment during pregnancy and postpartum: A qualitative study in southwestern Kenya

  PLOS Global Public Health · 2025-09-03

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with suboptimal HIV treatment behaviors and health outcomes among perinatal women. Less is known about the postpartum phase or how distinct types of perinatal IPV exposure may inhibit HIV-related care. We conducted a qualitative study nested within an ongoing trial among perinatal women in rural Kenya to explore the influence of IPV on adherence to HIV treatment during pregnancy and postpartum. In 2022, a trained researcher fluent in Dholuo and Kiswahili conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with women up to 2 years postpartum living with HIV and self-reported IPV in their current relationship. Digitally recorded interviews were translated into English, transcribed verbatim, and thematically coded using deductive and inductive techniques. Nearly all women reported psychological and financial IPV, the majority reported physical IPV, half reported male controlling behaviors, half reported reproductive coercion, and many reported sexual IPV. Many women described a link between IPV and their adherence to perinatal HIV care and treatment. An indirect pathway was exhibited when psychological IPV heightened mental distress, leading to non-adherence through symptoms of depression and anxiety. A second path occurred when financial IPV and withholding food led to HIV treatment challenges. A direct pathway occurred when male partners sabotaged HIV treatment or controlled women's access to HIV care. In turn, women's evasion of IPV through leaving home or strategic non-disclosure had unanticipated consequences for their HIV treatment. Despite enduring IPV, many women described adhering to HIV treatment to sustain good health for themselves and their children. IPV-exposed women living with HIV described multiple ways a violent relationship was detrimental to maintaining their HIV treatment. To meet global goals to end vertical transmission of HIV and improve maternal and infant health, preventing and addressing IPV within maternal health settings should be prioritized in HIV programming.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R03MH057563

  NIH · $21k · 1998

• NIH Grant K08MH072380

  NIH · $832k · 2009

• A Randomized Trial to Prevent HIV Among Gay Couples

  NIH · $4.1M · 2016–2022

• Couples in Context: An RCT of a Couples-based HIV Prevention Intervention

  NIH · $2.5M · 2010–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Deepalika Chakravarty

  67 shared

• Torsten B. Neilands

  University of California, San Francisco

  56 shared

• Mallory O. Johnson

  University of California, San Francisco

  34 shared

• Kristi E. Gamarel

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  32 shared

• Colleen C. Hoff

  San Francisco State University

  30 shared

• Nuala McGrath

  University of KwaZulu-Natal

  30 shared

• Amy A. Conroy

  University of California, San Francisco

  28 shared

• Heidi van Rooyen

  Human Sciences Research Council

  28 shared

Labs

• Center for Sexuality and Health DisparitiesPI

Education

• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

  University of Colorado

Awards & honors

• Member, American Psychological Association
• Member, Society for Behavioral Medicine
• Member, International AIDS Society
• Member, International Association for Relationship Research