Hostname: page-component-68945f75b7-gkscv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-06T06:50:53.088Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Temporal Stability and Cross-National Consistency of the Dimensional Structure of the Sexual Attraction Questionnaire (SAQ)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Juan Fernández ,
Mª Ángeles Quiroga ,
Isabel Del Olmo ,
Chiara Buizza  and
Antonio Imbasciati
Juan Fernández*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Mª Ángeles Quiroga
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Isabel Del Olmo
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Chiara Buizza
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Brescia (Italy)
Antonio Imbasciati
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Brescia (Italy)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Juan Fernández Sánchez. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense, Campus de Somosaguas, 28223 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: jfernandez@psi.ucm.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Sexual Attraction Questionnaire (SAQ) was designed to measure sexual attraction (Fernández, Quiroga, & Rodríguez, 2006), because the current questionnaires were considered inadequate. The purpose of this research was to test whether the SAQ factors remain meaningful after several years (stability) and whether the Italian version is equivalent to the Spanish one (consistency). Three groups of university students participated: two from Spain (n = 182 and 255, respectively) and one from Italy (n = 293). The Spanish groups were tested with a 7-year interval (2001-2008). The Italian group was tested in 2008. The main hypotheses were to test, across time interval and countries: (a) factor congruence, (b) predictive power of factors (proportion of variance accounted for), and (c) scale reliability. Sexual attraction typology also was analyzed, within and between countries, to test the validity of the underlying theoretical model. The results obtained show that the SAQ factor structure remains the same, the resulting factors have high predictive power, and the SAQ scales are highly reliable. Sexual dimorphism and sexual attraction typology are highly associated, thus validating the underlying theoretical model.

El Cuestionario de Atracción Sexual (CAS) se creó para valorar la atracción sexual (Fernández, Quiroga, & Rodríguez, 2006) debido a la ausencia de instrumentos específicos. Se pretende analizar ahora si la estructura dimensional del CAS permanece estable con el paso del tiempo y si es semejante en la versión italiana. Participaron tres grupos de estudiantes universitarios: dos españoles (182 y 255) y uno italiano (293). Los datos del primer grupo español se obtuvieron en 2001 y los del segundo en 2008, junto con los del grupo italiano. Las hipótesis se centran en analizar: (a) la congruencia de las estructuras factoriales; (b) el poder predictivo de los factores (proporción de varianza explicada) y (c) la fiabilidad de las escalas del CAS, tanto entre países como entre los dos momentos temporales. Además, para poner a prueba la validez del modelo teórico subyacente, se analiza la semejanza en la tipología de la atracción sexual intra e inter-países. Los resultados muestran que la estructura factorial del CAS se mantiene, sus factores poseen un alto poder predictivo y las escalas gozan de alta fiabilidad. El dimorfismo sexual y la tipología de atracción sexual están altamente relacionados, lo que apoya la validez del modelo teórico subyacente.

Keywords

sexual attractionsexual orientationsexual typologyfactor congruence and stabilitycross-national studiesatracción sexualorientación sexualtipología sexualcongruencia y estabilidad factorialestudios interpaíses
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , November 2009 , pp. 725 - 736
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agresti, A. (1996). Introduction to categorical data analysis. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Bell, A. P., & Weinberg, M. S. (1978). Homosexualities. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Berkey, B. R., Perelman-Hall, T., & Kurdek, L. A. (1990). The Multidimensional Scale of Sexuality. Journal of Homosexuality, 19, 67–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Busseri, M. A., Willoughby, T., Chalmers, H., & Bogaert, A. (2008). On the association between sexual attraction and adolescent risk behaviour involvement: Examining mediation and moderation. Developmental Psychology, 44, 69–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chung, Y. B., & Katayama, M. (1996). Assessment of sexual orientation in lesbian/gay/bisexual studies. Journal of Homosexuality, 30, 49–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coleman, E. (1987). Assessment of sexual orientation. Journal of Homosexuality, 14, 9–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D'augelli, A. R., & Patterson, C. J. (2001). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities and youth: Psychological perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, C. M., Yarber, W. L., Bauserman, R., Schreer, G., & Davis, S. L. (1997). Handbook of sexuality-related measures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Diamond, M. (1993). Homosexuality and heterosexuality in different populations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 291–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erceg-Hun, D. M., & Mirosevich, V. M. (2008). Modern robust statistical methods. An easy way to maximize the accuracy and power of your research. American Psychologist, 63, 591–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, J., Quiroga, M. A., & Del Olmo, I. (2006a). Is there any relationship between sexual attraction and gender typology? The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 9, 3–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fernández, J., Quiroga, M. A., & Del Olmo, I. (2006b). Is sexual attraction independent of the instrumental and expressive traits? The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 9, 162–179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fernández, J., Quiroga, M. A., & Rodríguez, A. (2006). Dimensionalidad de la atracción sexual. Psicothema, 18, 392–399.Google Scholar
Friedman, M. S., Silvestre, A. J., Gold, M. A., Markovic, N., Savin-Williams, R. C., Huggins, J., & Sell, R. L. (2004). Adolescents define sexual orientation and suggest ways to measure it. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 303–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galliher, R. V., Rostosky, S. S., & Hughes, H. K. (2004). School belonging, self-esteem, depressive symptoms in adolescents: An examination of sex, sexual attraction status, and urbanicity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 235–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giovazolias, T., & Davis, P. (2001). How common is sexual attraction towards clients? The experiences of sexual attraction of counselling psychologists toward their clients and its impact on the therapeutic process. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 14, 281–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonsiorek, J. C., & Weinrich, J. D. (1995). Definition and measurement of sexual orientation. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 25, 40–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greene, B., & Croom, G. L. (Eds.). (2000). Education, research, and practice in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered psychology: A resource manual (Vol. 5). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, C. E., & Evans, A. (1985). Bisexuality reconsidered: An idea in pursuit of a definition. Journal of Homosexuality, 11, 1–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, S. M. (2001). Teaching family therapists about sexual attraction in therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 27, 123–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jensen, A. R. (1998). The g factor. The science of mental abilities. Wesport, CN: Praeger.Google Scholar
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: Saunders.Google Scholar
Klein, F. (1990). The need to view sexual orientation as a multivariable dynamic process: A theoretical perspective. In McWhirter, D. P., Sanders, S. A., & Reinisch, J. M. (Eds.), Homosexuality/heterosexuality: Concepts of sexual orientation (pp. 277–282). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Klein, F., Sepekoff, B., & Wolf, T. J. (1985). Sexual orientation: A multi-variable dynamic process. Journal of Homosexuality, 11, 35–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ladany, N., O'Brien, K. M., Hill, C. E., Melincoff, D. S., Knox, S., & Petersen, D. A. (1997). Sexual attraction toward clients, use of supervision, and prior training: A qualitative study of predoctoral psychology interns. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 44, 413–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lievens, F., Reeve, C. L., & Heggestad, E. D. (2007). An examination of psychometric bias due to retesting on cognitive ability tests in selection settings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1672–1682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lippa, R. A. (2007). The relation between sex drive and sexual attraction to men and women: A cross-national study of heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 209–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lorenzo-Seva, U. (2003). A factor simplicity index. Psychometrika, 68, 49–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lorenzo-Seva, U., & Ferrando, P. J. (2006). FACTOR: A computer program to fit the exploratory factor analysis model. Behavioral Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 38, 88–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mardia, K. V. (1970). Measures of multivariate skewness and kurtosis with applications. Biometrika, 57, 519–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nesselroade, J. R., & Cattell, R. B. (Eds.). (1988). Handbook of multivariate experimental psychology (2nd ed.). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omoto, A. M., & Kurtzman, H. S. (2006). Sexual orientation and mental health. Examining identity and development in lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinneau, S. R., & Newhouse, A. (1964). Measures of invariance and comparability in factor analysis for fixed variables. Psychometrika, 29, 271–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pope, K. S., Keith-Spiegel, P., & Tabachnick, B. G. (2006). Sexual attraction to clients: The human therapist and the (sometimes) inhuman training system. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 8, 96–111. (Reprint from American Psychologist, 1986, 41, 147-158).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodríguez, A. (2002). Discriminación de la identidad de género y de la orientación sexual en el periodo de la primera juventud. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Universidad Complutense de Madrid.Google Scholar
Rostosky, S. S., Owens, G., Zimmerman, R. S., & Riggle, E. D. B. (2003). Associations among sexual attraction status, school belonging, and alcohol and marijuana use in rural high school students. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 741–751.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sell, R. L. (1996). The Sell Assessment of Sexual Orientation: Background and scoring. Journal of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity, 1, 295–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sell, R. L. (1997). Defining and measuring sexual orientation: A review. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 26, 643–658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shively, M. G., & De Decco, J. P. (1977). Components of sexual identity. Journal of Homosexuality, 2, 41–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storms, M. D. (1980). Theories of sexual orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 783–792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storms, M. D. (1981). A theory of erotic orientation development. Psychological Review, 88, 340–353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vandenberg, R. J., & Lance, C. E. (2000). A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 4–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar