Date of Graduation

7-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Statistics and Analytics (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Statistics and Analytics

Advisor/Mentor

Lo, Wen-Juo

Committee Member

Turner, Ronna C.

Second Committee Member

Janssen, Erick

Third Committee Member

Jozkowski, Kristen N.

Keywords

measurement invariance; psychometrics; sexual excitation; sexual inhibition; sexual response

Abstract

Background: Individual differences in sexual excitation and sexual inhibition are important predictors of sexual functioning. Psychometric instruments for these aspects of sexual response were originally developed separately for men (Sexual Inhibition /Sexual Excitation Scales [SIS/SES]) and women (Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women [SESII-W]). These measures were then adapted to function similarly in samples comprising both men and women (Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales-Short Form [SIS/SES-SF] and Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women and Men [SESII-W/M], respectively). No published study to our knowledge has administered the SIS/SES and SESII-W/M questionnaires to a sample of both women and men. In the present study, we sought to validate Dutch versions of these measures of sexual excitation and sexual inhibition as well as evaluate tests of measurement invariance across gender.

Methodology: Several researchers fluent in both English and Dutch translated the English versions of the SIS/SES, SIS/SES-SF, and SESII-W/M to Dutch. Using a secondary dataset in which these items had been administered to Dutch-speaking women (n = 688) and men (n = 340), we conducted tests of measurement invariance using multiple group confirmatory factor analysis.

Results: The 3-factor structure of the 45-item SIS/SES did not fit the data well in a Flemish sample. However, results from the present study supported the original factor structures for the 3-factor 14-item SIS/SES-SF and 6-factor 30-item SESII-W/M. Further, both the SIS/SES-SF and SESII-W/M exhibited configural invariance, metric invariance, partial scalar invariance, and partial residual invariance across gender.

Conclusion: While the SESII-W has been successfully translated to Dutch, there have not been any published studies using Dutch versions of the SIS/SES, SIS/SES-SF, or SESII-W/M. In a Dutch-speaking sample of women and men, our analyses suggested that the SIS/SES-SF may be the most efficient available tool for directly comparing sexual excitation and sexual inhibition across women and men; however, the SESII-W/M also demonstrated positive qualities. Researchers interested in making comparisons across gender might consider developing a new scale that combines items from these measures or one that comprises an entirely new set of items created with the intention of functioning similarly for women and men.

Download

Share

COinS