Is This My Scale? Response to a Revision of the Reiss PSP Scale by Sprecher, McKinney, Walsh, and Anderson

Abstract

My scale measures premarital sexual permissiveness in terms of three behaviors-kissing, petting, and coitus-as qualified by four affectional states: no affection, strong affection, love, and engagement. Combining three behaviors with each of four affectional states produces 12 questions of my scale. Starting with my article on scale in JMF 1964, I noted that there was almost 100% agreement with three kissing questions and thus they could be dropped. I also noted that three questions did not come out significantly different from three love questions and thus were not worth keeping as separate questions. My original suggestion was to use a 5-item scale rather than original 12. Starting about 10 years ago I suggested using only last three coital questions in scale (Questions 10, 11, and 12), for they are most relevant for almost all populations of young people today. Those three questions ask if one accepts coitus when in love, when there is strong affection, and when there is no affection (of cours , one has a fourth choice of rejecting all of ese conditions). The other questions would be needed only when one is interviewing a very young and/or sexually very conservative group. But what about revision by Sprecher et al.-does that make an improvement over original scale or over updated 3-item version? My scale is most tested and supported measure of premarital sexual permissiveness available. Given that fact, one should not without good reason alter meaning of scale, or else 25 years of prior measures will not be comparable. In this regar I have serious problems with sub titu ion of first date, casually dating, s riously dating, pre-engaged, and engagement in place of three affectional categories that I suggest d using: love, strong affection, and no affec ion. Americans, today, do still judge sexuality differently when it occurs with different degrees of affection. The five new categories suggested by Sp echer et al. are not direct measures of affection but rather are markers of the progression of a relationship. Now, of course, there will be a correlation between dating stages and affectional stages, but one is surely not other. People may progress in a relationship because they are eager to do so regardless of depth of affection. Also, one may be in love on date or with a person one is casually dating. I ask you to consider what is more important in terms of what you accept sexually-that it is a date, or that you