Development and psychometric evaluation of a Risky Sexual Behaviour Scale for Married Women (RSBS-MW) in Iran: a mixed-method study

Abstract

A valid and reliable culture-based scale for the evaluation of risky sexual behaviours for married Iranian women is lacking. This study aimed to develop, and psychometrically test, a risky sexual behaviour scale for married Iranian women. A mixed-method sequential exploratory design was conducted from 2016 to 2020 in Tehran, Iran. First, a qualitative study was employed to define the concept of risky sexual behaviour using 16 semi-structured individual interviews and 10 focus group discussions (n = 100). Then, an item pool was generated, and the scale was developed. Finally, in the quantitative study, the psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated by validity and reliability tests. A maximum likelihood extraction with promax rotation was performed on 400 sexually active married women to assess the construct validity. The six components: (i) ‘quality of sexual relations’; (ii) ‘unusual pleasures in sexual relations’; (iii) ‘sexual coercion’; (iv) ‘verbal violence in sexual relations’; (v) ‘self-care in sexual relations’; and (vi) ‘concealment in sexual relations’ could explain 57.49% of the total observed variance. The findings showed that the 27-item Risky Sexual Behaviour Scale (RSBS-MW) for married women in Iran has excellent internal consistency (α = 0.94) and stability (ICC = 0.98). Health care providers can use it to access risky sexual behaviours in married Iranian women.

Keywords:

• Unsafe sex
• high-risk sex
• psychometrics
• Iran

Acknowledgments

This article was derived from a Ph.D. research thesis in the Nursing Care Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences. The authors would like to acknowledge the Deputy of Research of Iran University of Medical Sciences for funding this project. Moreover, the authors would like to acknowledge the Health Care Centers of Tehran and Iran Universities of Medical Sciences and all participants in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The original data of the survey on the RSBS-MW scale are available from the research deputy of Iran University of Medical Sciences but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study, and so are not publicly available. However, data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and with the permission of the research deputy of the Iran University of Medical Sciences.

Additional information

Funding

The Deputy of Research of Iran University of Medical Sciences funded this research.