The questionnaire on sexual experience and partnership quality (Q-SEx-PaQ): concept and first empirical test using data from the Berlin BASE-II cohort

Abstract

Partnership quality is associated with physical and psychological health. The Questionnaire on Sexual Experience and Partnership Quality (Q-SEx-PaQ) was constructed as a part of the Berlin Aging Study (BASE-II). It allows the assessment of the main dimensions of sexuality and partnership quality. Aims were to analyze factorial validity including measurement invariance across age and to examine hypotheses regarding test criterion correlations as part of a validation strategy. We also wanted to estimate the test scores’ reliability in a large survey setting. A combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses was used to first explore and then test factorial validity. We analyzed baseline cross-sectional data from 233 younger (28.3 ± 3.0 years) and 767 older (68.2 ± 3.7 years) participants from the BASE-II. The EFA showed two-factor-solutions for the scales partnership satisfaction and changes of meaning ascribed to partnership and four-factor-solutions for meaning ascribed to partnership and partner selection. CFAs confirmed these structures. Reliability estimates were satisfactory with few exceptions. The empirical findings support the reliability and factorial validity of the Q-SEx-PaQ scores. The questionnaire provides a short yet comprehensive instrument to assess sexual experiences and partnership quality of same age groups using factor scores and is not appropriate for individual diagnostics.

Keywords:

• Human sexuality
• measurement invariance testing
• Berlin Aging Study
• validation
• Q-SEx-PaQ

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Frank Kroll

Frank Kroll is a scientist at the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine at the Charité Berlin where he is currently evaluating the prevention project “Kein Täter werden.” He is also researching the evaluation of syndyastic sexual therapy.

Stephanie Birgit Kossow

Dr. Stephanie Birgit Kossow is a former research associate and physician at the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine at the Charité Berlin and researches the influence of sexual-medical couple intervention on sexual and partnership satisfaction.

Ingrid Mundt

Dipl.-Psych. Ingrid Mundt is a former employee of the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine at the Charité Berlin and works as a resident psychological psychotherapist for behavioural therapy.

Anna Konrad

Dr. Anna Konrad is a staff member at the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine at the Charité Berlin and works as a psychological psychotherapist in the prevention project “Dunkelfeld.”

Alfred Pauls

Dr. med. Alfred Pauls is a senior consultant to ZEG (Berlin Center for Epidemiology and Health Research), providing independent strategy and industry insights to ensure all studies are compliant with industry and regulatory needs. He oversees legal aspects and quality management, assisting with internal and external audits in order to strengthen the capacity of the ZEG Berlin workforce.

Ilja Demuth

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ilja Demuth is co-speaker of the Berlin Ageing Study II. He is a biologist and human geneticist at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and, together with Prof. Elisabeth Steinhagen-Thiessen, heads the medical part of the Berlin Aging Study II. As part of the BMBF-funded GendAge project, Ilja Demuth is in charge of the second survey of medical data from BASE II subjects.

Klaus Michael Beier

Sexologist Prof. Dr. med. Dr. phil. Klaus Michael Beier is head of the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine at the Charité Berlin and has been head of the prevention network “Kein Täter werden” for paedophile men at the Charité Berlin for years. He helped to develop syndyastic sexual therapy as a sexual medical treatment option.

Matthias Ziegler

Prof. Dr. Matthias Ziegler has been Professor of Psychological Diagnostics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Director of The ROC Institute since 2009. He has developed numerous assessment centers, psychological tests and aptitude diagnostic processes. As a former editor of the European Journal of Psychological Assessment and author of more than 100 scientific publications, he has extensive specialist knowledge.