Measuring problematic sexual behaviour: an item response theory examination of the Bergen–Yale sex addiction scale

ABSTRACT

Background and aims

Previous research investigated the prevalence and risk factors of problematic sexual behaviour (PSB) using the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS), among other instruments. However, a dearth of literature employed item response theory (IRT) to assess the BYSAS psychometric properties. The present study adopts an IRT framework to comprehensively examine the measurement aspects (including discrimination and severity) and the prevalence of PSB among a relatively large adult sample.

Methods

Participants (N = 968, 64.3% men, M_age = 29.5 years, age range = 18–64 years) completed the BYSAS.

Results

CFA determined that the BYSAS is a unidimensional construct. Additionally, IRT analysis showed variability in discrimination, severity, and reliability across BYSAS items, with a raw score exceeding 20, indicating a high risk of PSB. Accordingly, using this raw score 1.8% of the participants were at-risk of PSB.

Conclusions

Findings supported the differential use of BYSAS criteria for assessment purposes, while only a minority of participants presented to be at risk of problematic sexual behaviour difficulties.

KEY POINTS

What is already known about this topic:

• (1) Discrepancies have been observed concerning the definition of Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB).

• (2) Several scales have been used to assess PSB, including Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST), its revised version (SAST–R), and the Bergen Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS).

• (3) The BYSAS has previously undergone various psychometric investigations employing Classical Test Theory (CTT); however, no studies assessed its properties via Item Response Theory.

What this topic adds:

• (1) BYSAS’ items differed across their psychometric properties, suggesting a potential ranking of items’ responses in clinical assessment. Additionally, the scale’s reliability was relatively low for the high extremes of symptoms reported (e.g., 3 SDs above the mean).

• (2) The prevalence of diagnosable addictive/excessive sexual behaviors in the present sample was 1.8% of participants.

• (3) A cut-off point of 20 is suggested to identify PBS.

KEYWORDS:

• Addictive sexual behaviours
• avoidant coping
• Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale
• IRT
• sex addiction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/13284207.2023.2221781.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.