Polish Adaptation of Sexual Addiction Screening Test Revised (SAST-PL)

Abstract

Objective: Addictive sexual behaviors are being identified with increasing frequency in the practices of psychology and psychiatry, and are gaining more and more attention from researchers. There are actually 25 different questionnaires for assessing the level of loss of control over sexual behaviors (LoCoSB). None of them have been adapted and validated in a Polish language version. The aim of our work was to make such an adaptation of the Sexual Addiction Screening Test – Revised (SAST-R). Design and Method: For the purpose of psychometric features examination and validation of the Polish version of SAST-R for males (SAST-PL-M), we recruited 116 heterosexual men receiving psychological treatment due to LoCoSB and meeting the criteria for hypersexual disorder. The control group consisted of 442 heterosexual males using internet pornography but having never looked for any psychological help due to LoCoSB. Psychometrical characteristic of SAST-R for females (SAST-PL-W) was examined in the study with 423 women. Validation was performed on the group of 34 females (17 women receiving psychological treatment due to LoCoSB). Results: Both SAST-PL-M and SAST-PL-W have high reliability (α = .904 for SAST-PL-M and α = .762 for SAST-PL-W), and good filtering characteristics for identification of people who are potentially experiencing difficulty with control over sexual behaviors. Conclusions: SAST-PL can be used as an efficient screening test for symptoms of LoCoSB in clinical and research setups. Results below 6 points indicate a high probability of no problems, while more than 5 points can indicate the need for additional clinical interviews.