Psychometric Validation of Gender Nonspecific Sexual Confidence and Sexual Relationship Scales in Men and Women

Introduction. The Sexual Confidence Scale (SCS) and the Sexual Relationship Scale (SRS) are two new measures designed for use by men and women across sexual dysfunction groups. The SCS assesses how confident an individual feels as a sexual partner, while the SRS assesses feelings that an individual has about their sexual relationship with their partner. Aim. To conduct item reduction and psychometric validation of the SCS and SRS instruments. Methods. To validate the new measures, 104 men with premature ejaculation (PE), 101 men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and 106 women with female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) took part in the study. One hundred and one males and 53 females without sexual dysfunction also completed the measures. Main Outcome Measures. The internal consistency, convergent, and discriminant validity, test-retest reliability and known-groups validity of the instruments were assessed. Results. The number of items in each scale was reduced following standard item reduction analyses and reference to the conceptual framework. Factor analysis confirmed a one-factor solution for the SCS and a two-factor solution for the SRS. Internal consistency was good, with cronbach's alpha >= 0.7 across the groups for both the SCS and SRS. Excellent test-retest reliability and ability to discriminate between men and women with and without sexual dysfunction were also demonstrated for both scales. Correlations with the Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire (SQOL) ranged from 0.48 to 0.80 indicating good convergent validity. Conclusions. The SCS and the SRS are reliable and valid instruments in men with PE or ED and in women with FSAD. These modules may be used either as stand-alone measures or, preferably, in conjunction with the SQOL to provide a complete assessment of sexual quality of life. Abraham L, Symonds T, May K, Althof SE, Hallam-Jones R, and Rosen RC. Psychometric validation of gender nonspecific sexual confidence and sexual relationship scales in men and women. J Sex Med 2009;6:2244-2254.