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Sexual Awareness Questionnaire

The Sexual Awareness Questionnaire is a 36-item measure of four personality tendencies associated with sexual awareness and sexual assertiveness: sexual consciousness (attention to internal private sexual cues), sexual monitoring (sensitivity to others’ evaluation of one’s sexuality), sexual assertiveness (self-reliance in sexual decision making), and sex appeal consciousness (awareness of one’s own public sexiness).

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

1. I am very aware of my sexual feelings.
2. I wonder whether others think I’m sexy.
3. I’m assertive about the sexual aspects of my life.
4. I’m very aware of my sexual motivations.
5. I’m concerned about the sexual appearance of my body.
6. I’m not very direct about voicing my sexual desires.*
7. I’m always trying to understand my sexual feelings.
8. I know immediately when others consider me sexy.
9. I am somewhat passive about expressing my sexual desires.*
10. I’m very alert to changes in my sexual desires.
11. I am quick to sense whether others think I’m sexy.
12. I do not hesitate to ask for what I want in a sexual relationship.
13. I am very aware of my sexual tendencies.
14. I usually worry about making a good sexual impression on others.
15. I’m the type of person who insists of having my sexual needs met.
16. I think about my sexual motivations more than most people do.
17. I’m concerned about what other people think of my sex appeal.
18. When it comes to sex, I usually ask for what I want.
19. I reflect about my sexual desires a lot.
20. I never seem to know when I’m turning others on.
21. If I were sexually interested in someone, I’d let that person know.
22. I’m very aware of the way my mind works when I’m sexually aroused.
23. I rarely think about my sex appeal.*
24. If I were to have sex with someone, I’d tell my partner what I like.
25. I know what turns me on sexually.
26. I don’t care what others think of my sexuality.*
27. I don’t let others tell me how to run my sex life.
28. I rarely think about the sexual aspects of my life.
29. I know when others think I’m sexy.
30. If I were to have sex with someone, I’d let my partner take the initiative.*
31. I don’t think about my sexuality very much.*
32. Other people’s opinions of my sexuality don’t matter very much to me.*
33. I would ask about sexually-transmitted diseases before having sex with someone.
34. I don’t consider myself a very sexual person.
35. When I’m with others, I want to look sexy.
36. If I wanted to practice “safe sex” with someone, I would insist on doing so.

Response Options:
Not at all characteristic of me - 0
Slightly characteristic of me - 1
Somewhat characteristic of me - 2
Moderately characteristic of me - 3
Very characteristic of me - 4

*Items are reverse scored

Scoring Procedures

The average score of each subscale is calculated (total possible scores ranging from 0-4), however, the sum can also be computed as well. Items in each subscale are as follows:

Sexual consciousness: 1, 4, 10, 13, 22, 25

Sexual monitoring: 2, 5, 14, 17, 23, 26, 28, 32, 32

Sexual assertiveness: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18,2 4, 30

Sexiness-consciousness: 8, 11, 29

Original Citation

Snell, W. E., Fisher, T. D., & Miller, R. S. (1991). Development of the Sexual Awareness Questionnaire: Components, reliability, and validity. Annals of Sex Research, 4(1), 65-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/107906329100400104


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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