Multidimensional Sexual Well-being Scale for Older Adults: Validity Evidence from a Polish Sample

Abstract

Here, we report the results of a Polish adaptation of the Multidimensional Sexual Well-being Scale (MSWBS) for older adults. The MSWBS is a short self-report scale for assessing the five dimensions of an individual’s sexual well-being: frequency of caressing, sexual intimacy, sexual compliance, sexual satisfaction, and sexual distress. The aim of our adaptation was to examine the utility of the scale in a country with conservative views on the sexuality of older people, which will help health care providers and researchers to better understand the sexual needs of older people. The study included 507 participants, aged 60–92. We found the reliability of the scale to be satisfactory (Cronbach’s alpha = .71–.87). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed a good fit of the data to a five-factor model. This study demonstrates that the MSWBS-PL is connected to general life satisfaction and diversity of sexual activity, confirming the scale’s validity. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2021.1991535