Sexual Orientation Self-Concept Ambiguity: Scale Adaptation and Validation

Abstract

The current article describes the adaptation of a measure of sexual orientation self-concept ambiguity (SSA) from an existing measure of general self-concept clarity. Latent “trait” scores of SSA reflect the extent to which a person's beliefs about their own sexual orientation are perceived as inconsistent, unreliable, or incongruent. Sexual minority and heterosexual women (n = 348), ages 18 to 30, completed a cross-sectional survey. Categorical confirmatory factor analysis guided the selection of items to form a 10-item, self-report measure of SSA. In the current report, we also examine (a) reliability of the 10-item scale score, (b) measurement invariance based on respondents' sexual identity status and age group, and (c) correlations with preexisting surveys that purport to measure similar constructs and theoretical correlates. Evidence for internal reliability, measurement invariance (based on respondent sex), and convergent validity was also investigated in an independent, validation sample. The lowest SSA scores were reported by women who self-ascribed an exclusively heterosexual or exclusively lesbian/gay sexual identity, whereas those who reported a bisexual, mostly lesbian/gay, or mostly heterosexual identity, reported relatively higher SSA scores.

Sexual Orientation Self-Concept Ambiguity and Alcohol Use Disorder Symptomology: The Roles of Motivated Psychological Distancing and Drinking to Cope

“…An important identity-related characteristic that has been theorized to affect alcohol use is sexual orientation self-concept ambiguity (SSA; Talley & Stevens, 2017), defi ned as the extent to which a person views aspects of their sexual orientation as illdefi ned, incongruent, or transitory. SSA is an individual difference characteristic that requires self-awareness of incongruence or ambiguity among three primary facets of sexual orientation (self-identifi cation, attraction, behavior) and may refl ect diffi culty integrating aspects of a marginalized sexual identity into the self-concept (Talley & Stevens, 2017).…”

Development and validity evidence of the multidimensional scale of sexual self-concept in a Spanish-speaking context

“…Self-concept can be considered as a multidimensional construction that refers to the perceptions and positive/negative feelings that an individual has as a sexual being (e.g. Talley and Stevens, 2017), bringing together a large number of concepts (e.g. sexualanxiety, sexual self-efficacy, sexual self-consciousness, sexual-preoccupation, sexual self-assertiveness, sexual self-esteem), ranging from proposals that include a few dimensions (e.g.…”

Self-reported sexual orientation among undergraduates of 10 universities in Guangzhou, China

“…Sexual orientation largely emerges in adolescence and stabilizes in early adulthood [ 1 ] and represents a subjective internal experience which plays a crucial role in the construction of an individual’s self-concept [ 2 ]. Sexual orientation, together with culture, plays a role in moderating sex differences in personality traits and occupational preferences [ 3 – 5 ].…”

“…In the study by Guo et al, sexual orientation was defined as sexual identity and assessed by three discrete categories: heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual [ 8 ]. The present study is the first to identify the sexual orientation of China’s 37 million undergraduates and is the first to use a measure that reflects the perspective that sexuality lies on a continuum [ 2 , 9 ].…”