Sexual Opinion Survey: An Exploratory Factor Analysis with Helping Professionals

Counselors and marriage and family therapists work with individuals, couples, and families on issues related to sexuality. However, clinicians may be underserving their clients by not having adequate training and preparation to work with clients with these presenting issues. One mitigating factor in the treatment of sexual problems is therapists' comfort with discussing issues of sexuality. Therefore, researchers performed an exploratory factor analysis on the Sexual Opinion Survey with a sample of registered and licensed counselors and marriage and family therapists in the state of Florida (N = 813). The data analyses resulted in a five-factor, 21-item assessment that explained 58.71% of the variance. The researchers present how the SOS can be used as a tool in sexual education.