The Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) Within a Dutch Population

Abstract

According to the dual control model, sexual arousal is dependent on the disposition for both sexual excitation (SE) and sexual inhibition (SI; Bancroft, 1999). Individual variability in sexual inhibition and sexual excitation could partly explain individual differences in sexual arousability and the likelihood of experiencing sexual problems (Bancroft, Graham, Janssen, & Sanders, 2009). The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) is a questionnaire developed to measure the factors sexual excitation and sexual inhibition (Graham, Sanders, & Milhausen, 2006). This study describes the validation of the Dutch version of the SESII-W in a sample of 445 women. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we determined that the eight lower-order factor model achieved adequate fit to the data. A decrement in fit was noted when the two higher-order factors SE and SI were included in the model. The measure demonstrated good construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Furthermore, the scores of women with sexual problems differed from those without sexual problems, providing evidence for the discriminant validity of the SESII-W.

Acknowledgments

We thank Conor Dolan and Robert Hillen for their help with the statistical analyses.

Notes

Note. Numbers in parentheses refer to item numbers on original 36-item questionnaire. Items with asterisk (*) are reverse-scored.

**p < .01; *p < .05.

Note. For each factor, absolute range was 1–4.

Note. All p's < .001. For each factor, absolute range was 1–4. Means (M) and standard deviations (SD) of first and second completion and correlations (r) between first and second completion (N = 122).

**p < .01; *p < .05.

Note. All ps < .001; means (M), standard deviations (SD), and effect sizes (r).