Measuring Aspects of Multisexuality: Initial Development of the Multisexual Identity Scale

Abstract

This article outlines the development of a novel scale for assessing identity aspects of multisexual individuals. To establish the factor structure and assess the reliability and validity of the Multisexual Identity Scale (MIS), three studies in Greece were conducted. The first Study (N = 109) provided data for exploratory factor analysis. The proposed factor structure underwent confirmatory factor analysis in the second Study (N = 107), yielding a 6-factor solution with 22 items. These six subscales addressed Identity Intersection/Holistic Growth, Label Rejection, LGBTQIA2+ Community Involvement, Heterosexual Community Involvement, Rejection of Monosexual Identity, and Understanding Multisexual Identity. The third Study (N = 109) further assessed reliability and validity, including a measurement invariance test based on sex assigned at birth. Overall, the results support the adoption of this newly developed scale, offering valuable insights into multisexual identity with satisfactory psychometric outcomes. Limitations are also discussed.

Keywords:

• Multisexuality
• bisexuality
• pansexuality
• polysexuality
• scale

Acknowledgments

Data reported here were collected as part of a PhD dissertation conducted by the first author under the supervision of the second. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in [https://osf.io/] at http://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/X5NTZ [doi].

Notes

1 The term “monosexuality” is used to describe people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to only one sex/gender (e.g., heterosexual and gay/lesbian people).

2 The acronym LGBTQIA2+ stands for (L)esbian, (G)ay, (B)isexual, (T)rans, (Q)ueer, (I)ntersex, (A)sexual, Two-Spirit (2S) people. The “+” stands for all the other identities not encompassed in the acronym.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ilias Kassaras

Ilias Kassaras is a Ph.D. candidate at Panteion University, Department of Psychology, located in Athens, Greece. His doctoral research centers on well-being and close interpersonal relationships within a non-monosexual population. He holds a Psychology degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2013) and has successfully completed postgraduate studies in Educational Psychology at the University of Nicosia in 2016 and in Social Psychology of Conflict at Panteion University in 2021. Mr. Kassaras is a qualified Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapist and serves as a military psychologist officer at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Greek Army in Athens. Since 2022, he has held the position of Professor of Psychology at the Scientific College of Greece (SCG), in collaboration with the University of Strasbourg. His research interests include sexuality, multisexual population and identity aspects, LGBTQIA2+ well-being and social psychology.