Sexuality can be inscribed in a multidimensional model comprising different aspects of human life: biology, reproduction, culture, entertainment, relationships and love.Del Re G., Bazzo G., Programma di educazione sessuale e relazionale-affettiva. In Veglia F., (2004) Manuale di educazione sessuale, Vol. I, Erickson, Trento.
In the last decades, a growing interest towards sexuality and a greater quest to acknowledge a "right to sexuality" has occurred both in society and individuals. The consequence of this evolution has been a renewed and more explicit call for intervention from those who suffer, or think they suffer from alterations of their sexual and relational sphere.
This has produced an increased attention of medicine and psychology towards sexual dysfunctions and the problems they cause in individuals and couples. Science has gradually adjusted already existing research tools, mostly used in other fields of clinical research, to the field of sexology, so completing and increasing the number of tools in the "toolkit" of various branches of sexological diagnosis.Boccadoro L., Carulli S., (2008) Il posto dell'amore negato. Sessualità e psicopatologie segrete. Edizioni Tecnoprint, Ancona.
Psychological measurements cannot be considered as accurate as physical ones (weight, height, mass, etc.), as the former evaluate those aspects and variables pertaining to an "individual" whose individuality refers to his/her own psychological, personological and environmental constituents: emotions, expressiveness, senses, feelings and experiences which can greatly vary according to the subjects and change in the short period or depending on different settings, even in the same individual.
What is expected of psychological measurements is "sufficient" accuracy and reliability, i.e. capability to express an indication or focus which clinicians can use as a "guideline" to rapidly and accurately deepen the aspects highlighted by the measurements and check them together with their patients.DeRogatis L.R., Assessment of sexual function/dysfunction via patient reported outcomes. International Journal of Impotence Research, 20, 2008. For this purpose, several statistical validation indexes of psychodiagnostic tests are provided: from standardization to various constructions of validity (internal, external, face, construct, convergent, content, discriminant, etc.).
There are several sexual dysfunctions and each of them has a different cause. Therefore, the field of sexology provides different psychological evaluation devices in order to examine the various aspects of the discomfort, problem or dysfunction, regardless of whether they are individual or relational ones.Basile Fasolo C. et Veglia F., (1999) Disturbi sessuali. In Conti L. (a cura di), Repertorio delle scale di valutazione in psichiatria, S.E.E., Firenze.
The number of psychodiagnostic reactives is certainly wide and heterogeneous, nevertheless, the number of tests specifically meant for the field of sexology is quite limited. The following list (in alphabetical order) is not exhaustive but shows the best known and/or most used reactives in the field of sexological and relational psychodiagnosis.
Index
ASEX (Arizona Sexual Experience Scale) ASEX - Arizona Sexual Experience ScaleMcGahuey C.A., Gelenberg A.J., Laukes C.A., Moreno F.A., Delgado P.L., McKnight K.M., Manber R., The Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX): reliability and validity. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 26, 1, 2000.
This test is intended for the assessment of sexual dysfunctions in psychiatric patients and people with health problems (men and women). It particularly evaluates modifications and alterations of sexual functions in relation to the intake of medicines or psychotropic substances. This self-report questionnaire can be both administered by a clinician or self-administered. It is made up of five items rated on a 6-point Likert scale. Each item explores a particular aspect of sexuality: 1. Sexual drive, 2. Arousal, 3a. Penile erection; 3b. Vaginal lubrication, 4. Ability to reach orgasm, 5. Satisfaction from orgasm. Only one item of the scale has a male and a female version (3a – 3b). This test provides good reliability indexes with a Cronbach's coefficient alpha of 0.90 and correlation (at intervals of 1 and 2 weeks) with r = 0.80. The "validity of the construction" has been evaluated by several studies through differences in the scores obtained by sample groups (dysfunctional patients) and control groups.Soykan A., The reliability and validity of Arizona sexual experiences scale in Turkish ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis. International Journal of Impotence Research, 16, 6, 2004.Soykan A., Boztaş H., Idilman R., Ozel E.T., Tüzün A.E., Ozden A., Ozden A., Kumbasar H., Sexual dysfunctions in HCV patients and its correlations with psychological and biological variables. International Journal of Impotence Research,17 ,2, 2005.Sukan M., Maner F., The problems in sexual functions of vitiligo and chronic urticaria patients. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 33, 1, 2007. Convergent and discriminant validity have been measured comparing the results obtained by ASEX with those obtained by other tests. Particularly, it has been found a significant correlation between ASEX and BISF (Brief Index of Sexual Functioning),Taylor J.F., Rosen R.C., Leiblum S.R., Self-report assessment of female sexual function: Psychometric evaluation of the brief index of sexual functioning for women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23, 1994. while little correlation has been noticed between ASEX and HRSD - Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and BDI - Beck Depression Inventory.
ASKAS (Aging Sexuality Knowledge and Attitudes Scale) ASKAS - Aging Sexuality Knowledge and Attitudes ScaleWhite C.B., A Scale for the Assessment of Attitudes and Knowledge Regarding Sexuality in the Aged. Paper presented at the 89th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles, CA, August 24–26, 1981.
This questionnaire is aimed at knowing sexuality and sexual attitudes in the elderly. It is made up of 61 items divided into two subscales: "Knowledge subscale", a 35-item scale with "True/False" and "I don't know" answers and "Attitudes subscale" which is composed of 26 items rated on a 7-point Likert scale. Both subscales provide good reliability indexes (from 0.97 to 0.72) for Cronbach's alpha, test-retest and split half methods measured on different types of groups: Nursing home resident, Community older adults, Family of older adults, Persons who work with older adults, Nursing home staff. According to several studies carried out by the same author, sexual behaviour and attitudes during older age reflects those adopted during younger age, in fact: those people who were sexually active during youth tend to maintain this behaviour during older age; negative attitudes towards sex learned during youth can significantly affect the ability to have good sexuality during older age. ASKAS has been used to study the effects of sexual education on the attitudes of nursing home residents, their relatives and nursing home staff towards sexuality in the elderly. It has been noted that, after receiving sexual education, nursing home staff and relatives were more tolerant towards sexual intercourse in older age. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the sexual activity and satisfaction in those elderly people who had been given sexual education.White C.B., Catania J.A., Psychoeducational Intervention for Sexuality with the Aged, Family Members of the Aged and People Who Work with the Aged. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 15, 1982. An Italian survey carried out through a translated version of ASKAS among general practitioners has found that almost the entire sample (N=95) knew that sexuality is a lifelong need and it is not hazardous to elderly people's health, but, at the same time, it has revealed a lot of fallacies, confusion, stereotypes and lack of accurate knowledge of sexuality in old men and old women.Capodieci S., Canu B., Il medico di base e il complesso del figlio di Noè. Rivista di Sessuologia, 13-4, 1989. Several studies carried out in the fields of medicine and psychology throughout the world,Capodieci S., De Leo D., La vita sessuale nella terza età, Mursia, Milano, 1990.White C.B., Sexual Interest, Attitudes, Knowledge and Sexual History in Relation to Sexual Behaviour in the Institutionalized Aged. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 11, 1982.Nam Cho K., Nurses' Attitudes and Knowledges about Sexuality of the Aged. In Korean Medical Database, 2, 2, 2000.Hajjar R.R., Kamel H.K., Sex and the nursing home. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 19, 3, 2003.Dersch A.C., et al. (2000) Sexual Issues for Aging Adults . Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.Dogan S., Demir B., Eker E., Karim S., Knowledge and attitudes of doctors toward the sexuality of older people in Turkey. International Psychogeriatrics, 20, 5, 2008. have confirmed that this test can be used in order to assess elderly people and to survey their relatives and those professionals (helping profession) working close to them: doctors, psychologists and social workers.
BSRI (Bem Sex-Role Inventory) BSRI – Bem Sex-Role InventoryBem S.L. (1972), The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155. Self-administering questionnaire (60 items in all) measures masculinity (20 items), femininity (20 items), androgyny (20 items), using the masculinity and femininity scales. The concept of psychological androgyny implies that it is possible for an individual to be both compassionate and assertive, both expressive and instrumental, both feminine and masculine, depending upon the situational appropriateness of these various modalities.Bem S.L. (1976), Sex typing and androgyny: Further explorations of the expressive domain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 1016.
PSESQ33 (Parental Sexual Education Styles Questionnaire)
PSESQ33 – Parental Sexual Education Styles QuestionnaireAbdollahzadeh, H., & Keykhosravi, S. (2020). Construction and Psychometric Characteristics of the Parental Sexual Education Styles Questionnaire. Journal Of Research In Behavioural Sciences, 17(4), 571-584. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.22122/rbs.v17i4.2629.
this questionnaire was first developed by Abdollahzadeh and Keykhosravi (2020). The attitude of parents to their children's sexual education has an effect on their sexual behavior and interaction with their children. No specific measurement tool has ever been developed to evaluate and measure this matter. The aim of present study was to develop a parental sexual education style questionnaire and determine its psychometric criteria.Three factors were extracted from the results of confirmatory factor analysis, including strict sexual education style, permissive sexual education style and authoritative education style. In general, all three factors were able to explain 50.32% of variance related to 33 items of the questionnaire. The value of Cranach's alpha coefficient was obtained equal to 0.751 for whole of the questionnaire. Also, the value of Cranach's alpha for the first three components was equal to 0.739, 0.765 and 0.751, respectively. The Varimax rotation matrix showed that all questions are applicable to the extracted styles.Abdollahzadeh, H., & Keykhosravi, S. (2020). Construction and Psychometric Characteristics of the Parental Sexual Education Styles Questionnaire. Journal Of Research In Behavioural Sciences, 17(4), 571-584. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.22122/rbs.v17i4.2629.http://rbs.mui.ac.ir/index.php/jrbs/article/view/2629
DAS (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) DAS - Dyadic Adjustment ScaleSpanier G.B., Measuring dyadic adjustment: new scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and Family, 38, 15, 1976.