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Abstract
The measurement of subjective components of sexual functioning is of increasing importance in clinical research and practice. Differences have been reported in prevalence rates and experiences of sexual difficulties between heterosexual and gay men. The aim of this article is to identify reliable and valid measures of sexual dysfunction suitable for use with gay men. Seven measures were reviewed; details about item development, dimensionality, reliability, and validity are provided. Heteronormative and heterosexist wording were evident throughout. Several areas of concern emerged in relation to psychometric properties (e.g., questionable validity). No psychometrically robust sexual function measure was identified for use with gay populations.
Notes
1. 1. It should be noted that this term has been criticized in the literature. For instance, Hollows (Citation2007) argued that pain during anal sex may be a consequence of a lack of information, inadequate anoreceptive preparation, or pre-existing medical conditions (e.g., hemorrhoids). Therefore, it may be unwise to label the experience of pain during anal sex a dysfunction. Clearly, more work is needed in this area, but the research thus far suggests gay men experience sexual difficulties that may be less germane to heterosexual men.
2. 2. Measures published before 1980 were few in number and were psychometrically deficient (Daker-White, Citation2002).
3. 3. The DISF-SR has been reported as having 25 (Derogatis, Citation1997) and 26 items (Derogatis, Citation2011).
4. 4. For some unspecified reason, this component was not included as a scale domain.