Psychometric properties of the Sexual Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ) in the Iranian population with spinal cord injury.

Abstract

This is a cross-sectional study. The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Sexual Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ) for Iranian people with spinal cord injury. This study was conducted in the brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. We assessed the psychometric properties of the SAQ, with 200 participants (men=146, women=54) completing the scale. An evaluation of its test-retest reliability was performed over a 2-weeks period, on a subsample of 30 patients recruited from the overall group. Cronbach's α-coefficient was computed for assessment of internal consistency reliability. In addition, content and face validity were examined by an expert committee. Construct validity was assessed by examining convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, exploratory factor analysis was used to extract the factor structure of the questionnaire. The Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient were 0.77 and 0.72 retrospectively. With regard to construct validity, there was a significant (P=0.009) negative correlation (r=-0.28) between the SAQ score and age. Those with lower levels of educations scored significantly lower on the SAQ (P=0.04). The exploratory factor analysis indicated a four-factor structure for the questionnaire, accounting for 68.9% of the observed variance. The expert committee approved the face and content validity of the developed measure. The SAQ is a valid measure for assessing sexual adjustment in people with spinal cord injury. The evaluation of sexual well-being may be useful in clinical trials and practical settings.