Abstract
BackgroundSexual desire is one of the domains of sexual function with multiple dimensions, which commonly affects men and women around the world. Classically, its assessment has been applied through self-report tools; however, an issue is related to the evidence level of these questionnaires and their validity. Therefore, a systematic review addressing the available questionnaires is really relevant, since it will be able to show their psychometric properties and evidence levels.MethodA systematic review was carried out in the PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases. The search strategy was developed according to the following research question and combination of descriptors and keywords, including original studies with no limit of publication date and in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Two reviewers carried out the selection of articles by abstracts and full texts as well as the analysis of the studies independently. The methodological quality of the instruments was evaluated by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist.ResultsThe search resulted in 1203 articles, of which 15 were included in the review. It identified 10 instruments originally developed in the English language. Unsatisfactory results on methodological quality were evidenced in cultural adaptation studies with no description of the steps of the processes and inadequacy of techniques and parameters of adequacy for models. The Principal Component Analysis with Varimax rotation predominated in the studies.ConclusionsThe limitation of the techniques applied in the validation process of the reviewed instruments was evident. A limitation was observed in the number of adaptations conducted and contexts to which the instruments were applied, making it impossible to reach a better understanding of the functioning of instruments. In future studies, the use of robust techniques can ensure the quality of the psychometric properties and the accuracy and stability of instruments. A detailed description of procedures and results in validation studies may facilitate the selection and use of instruments in the academic and/or clinical settings.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42018085706.
Highlights
Sexual desire is one of the domains of sexual function with multiple dimensions, which commonly affects men and women around the world
The use of robust techniques can ensure the quality of the psychometric properties and the accuracy and stability of instruments
A systematic review of measurement instruments was conducted according to the ten steps of the COSMIN protocol [13]: 1) formulation of the research question; 2) literature search; 3) selection criteria; 4) selection of articles by abstracts and full texts; 5) evaluation of the methodological quality of included studies; 6) extraction of the data; 7) content comparison; 8) data synthesis and evaluation of instruments quality; 9) general conclusion of the systematic review; and 10) preparation of the report on the psychometric properties of the evaluated instruments
Summary
Sexual desire is one of the domains of sexual function with multiple dimensions, which commonly affects men and women around the world. Its assessment has been applied through self-report tools; an issue is related to the evidence level of these questionnaires and their validity. A systematic review addressing the available questionnaires is really relevant, since it will be able to show their psychometric properties and evidence levels. The assessment by self-report is more widely and commonly applied to measure the sexual desire and functioning. Systematic reviews on psychometric properties for sexual (dys)function have been carried out to identify available measurement instruments [7, 8]; those addressing sexual desire are still limited. Regarding sexual desire and functioning, different questionnaires applied to diagnose hypoactive sexual desire disorders as well estimating their real prevalence and associated factors and magnitude have been observed [9, 10]
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