Psychometric properties of the French Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)

Few validated questionnaires are available in French to assess sexual function. The aim of this study was thus to validate a French version of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in a sample of French women. In this prospective monocentric and cross-sectional study, an already existing French version of the FSFI, was back-translated and compared to the original version. It was then randomly distributed to 800 women attending Gynecology consultation at Nantes University Hospital in April 2012. Various statistical analyzes were used to test the psychometric properties of the French FSFI. 512 questionnaires were completed. Mean FSFI summary score was 25.2. Intraclass correlation coefficients were superior to 0.75 and Cronbach's coefficients superior to 0.8 similarly to the original version. Variance analysis revealed significant differences in summary score between premenopausal and postmenopausal women and according to the marital status. Convergent validity was excellent (100 %) and discriminant validity was satisfactory (89.5 %). The factorial structure corresponded to the original version with six retrieved dimensions. Our study demonstrated similar or adequate psychometric properties of the French version of the FSFI compared to the original English version.