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The Validation of the Female Sexual Function Index, Male Sexual Function Index, and Profile of Female Sexual Function for Use in Healthy Young Adults

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Abstract

Past research has typically used clinical samples to evaluate the validity of sexual function measures. As normal variations in sexually healthy individuals are of important research and clinical interest, evaluating the applicability of common sexual function measures to these populations is important. Factor structures of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Male Sexual Function Index (MSFI) (adapted for this investigation), and Profile of Female Sexual Function (PFSF) were examined in young, healthy men and women. We predicted the factor structures to be consistent with past evaluations. In a cross-sectional study, 1,258 participants (M age = 19.56 years; 59 % women) completed these measures. Confirmatory factor analyses did not initially support the factor structures. However, factor loadings showed marked differences between positively and negatively worded items. As such, each measure’s factor structure was tested using multi-trait multi-method confirmatory factor analysis which accounted for variance due to item valence. These models supported the predicted structures of the FSFI and MSFI, whereas the PFSF’s Responsiveness scale required modification, resulting in an Avoidance scale for both genders. This study was one of few to validate the FSFI in young, healthy adults and the first to examine the MSFI and PFSF in these populations. Additionally, this investigation was the first to propose a reconceptualization of the PFSF Responsiveness scale into an Avoidance scale. Lastly, our study highlights the significant impact of item valence on how individuals respond to questions regarding their sexual functioning.

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Notes

  1. Though we hypothesize that the factor structures will be the same across men and women, we do not mean to imply that sexual functioning is the same for both genders. Rather, factor analyses regard the structure of the measure and the way in which items are correlated with one another and we predicted that item correlations would be similar for both men and women.

  2. Carvalho et al. (2012) showed that desire and arousal were distinct in non-clinical women whereas they were unitary in clinical women. To examine if we were able to replicate their findings, we also ran a separate MTMM CFA with desire and arousal combined into a single construct. When comparing the models, analyses revealed desire and arousal to be distinct constructs, ∆χ2(5) = 134.77, p < .001. These analyses are consistent with Carvalho et al.’s findings regarding non-clinical women.

  3. Carvalho et al.’s (2012) examination of the FSFI showed that desire and arousal were distinct in non-clinical women whereas they were unitary in clinical women. To examine if we were able to replicate their findings in our sample of non-clinical men, we also ran a separate MTMM CFA with desire and arousal combined into a single construct. Comparison of the models provided empirical evidence of the distinction between desire and arousal, Δχ2(4) = 30.46, p < .001.

  4. It is important to clarify that our findings do not imply that sexual functioning is the same for both sexes or that there is a singular, unisex model of sexual functioning. In summary, our findings showed that the structure of the measures and the manner in which these items correlated with one another were similar for men and women. For reasons previously outlined, we initially used the female models as a priori models and found that they applied to men as well. If these structural models of the measures did not fit men, then our analyses would not have supported them and the MTMM CFAs would not have worked.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by Kent State University and approved by the Kent State University Institutional Review Board. Data collection was performed by David A. Kalmbach, Adrijana Blazevic, Lindsey Johnson, and Katharina Leube. Study design, analyses, and interpretation were sole product of the co-authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    David A. Kalmbach & Jeffrey A. Ciesla

  2. Sleep and Chronophysiology Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    David A. Kalmbach

  3. Departments of Reproductive Biology and Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Jeffrey W. Janata & Sheryl A. Kingsberg

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  1. David A. Kalmbach
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  2. Jeffrey A. Ciesla
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  3. Jeffrey W. Janata
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  4. Sheryl A. Kingsberg
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Correspondence to David A. Kalmbach.

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Kalmbach, D.A., Ciesla, J.A., Janata, J.W. et al. The Validation of the Female Sexual Function Index, Male Sexual Function Index, and Profile of Female Sexual Function for Use in Healthy Young Adults. Arch Sex Behav 44, 1651–1662 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0334-y

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