The Development of the Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ): A Comprehensive Measure of Sexual Assertiveness for Women

Abstract

Sexual assertiveness has been defined in a number of ways by many researchers, with different aspects of sexual assertiveness emphasized in different measures. Most previous measures have included condom insistence as an important aspect of sexual assertiveness, but this may not translate well to women at all life stages or in varied types of relationships. The goal of the current study was to develop a comprehensive measure of sexual assertiveness that encompasses the aspects of sexual assertiveness that have been emphasized by previous researchers, with the exception of condom insistence. Items were generated based on previous measures and definitions, and an exploratory factor analysis was conducted (Study 1) to better understand the dimensions of sexual assertiveness. The proposed scale was revised and further refined using both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2. The final scale consisted of 18 items that seem to capture three dimensions of sexual assertiveness: the ability to initiate and communicate about desired sex, the ability to refuse unwanted sex, and the ability to communicate about sexual history and risk. Model fit indices indicate that this three-factor solution fits the data well. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Women Who Love: An Explorative Study on Experiences of Lesbian and Bisexual Women with a Mild Intellectual Disability in The Netherlands

“…Loshek and Terrell [ 38 ] point to the positive link between sexual assertiveness and positive physical and mental health outcomes for women. They distinguish three dimensions of sexual assertiveness in their sexual assertiveness questionnaire: the ability to initiate and communicate about desired sex, the ability to refuse unwanted sex, and the ability to communicate about sexual history and risk.…”

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

“…Adler and Hendrick, 1991;Brassard et al, 2015;Toro et al, 2008) and assertive sexual communication (e.g. Loshek and Terrell, 2015). However, in the case of sexual self-efficacy and behavioural assertiveness, inverse relationships are observed, contrary to what is expected in the reference literature.…”

“…In the case of sexual assertiveness, there are two different facets: (1) assertive sexual behaviour, which refers to the ability to initiate sexual activity, reject unwanted sexual activity, and negotiate the desired sexual behaviour (Morokoff et al, 1997); and (2) assertive sexual communication, which refers to the social skills that facilitate the communication of preferences or needs between sexual partners (Loshek and Terrell, 2015;Santos-Iglesias et al, 2014). Both aspects have been shown to predict the use of condoms, safe sexual practices (Kelly and Kalichman, 1995), lower risk sexual behaviour, HIV (Brown et al, 2018), and greater sexual satisfaction (Sánchez-Fuentes et al, 2016).…”

"Demand what you prefer": the role of sexual assertiveness among HIV-infected women

“…Sexually non-assertive participants in our study had initiated sexual activities at younger ages compared to the assertive group. This significant difference reflects the impact of sexual assertiveness on ability to reject unwanted sexual encounters (Loshek, Terrell, 2015). In addition, young sexually active women are at much higher risk of sexual violence, which can negatively affect sexual assertiveness (Cooper, Crockett, 2015).…”

“…Sexual assertiveness reflects the ability of women to talk about their sexual preferences and sexual history, and to initiate safe sex and refuse undesirable sexual behaviors (Loshek, Terrell, 2015;Ramezani et al, 2018). The association between sexual assertiveness and psycho-physical health conditions make it an important concept in sexual health (Loshek, Terrell, 2015). Low sexual assertiveness can be an important factor in predicting risky sexual behaviors.…”