Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations: Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9)

Nagy L 1 , Koós M 1 , Kraus DSW 2 , Demetrovics Z 1 , Potenza MN 3 , Ballester-Arnal R 4 Show all authors , Batthyány D 5 , Bergeron S 6 , Billieux J 7 , Briken P 8 , Burkauskas J 9 , Cárdenas-López G 10 , Carvalho J 11 , Castro-Calvo J 12 , Chen L 13 , Chen JK 14 , Ciocca G 15 , Corazza O 16 , Csako R 17 , Fernandez DP 18 , Fujiwara H 19 , Fernandez EF 20 , Fuss J 21 , Gabrhelík R 22 , Gewirtz-Meydan A 23 , Gjoneska B 24 , Gola M 25 , Grubbs JB 26 , Hashim HT 27 , Islam MS 28 , Ismail M 27 , Jiménez-Martínez MC 29 , Jurin T 30 , Kalina O 31 , Klein V 32 , Költő A 33 , Lee SK 34 , Lewczuk K 35 , Lin CY 36 , Lochner C 37 , López-Alvarado S 38 , Lukavská K 22 , Mayta-Tristán P 39 , Miller DJ 40 , Orosová O 31 , Orosz G 41 , Sungkyunkwan University’s Research Team 42 , Ponce FP 43 , Quintana GR 44 , Quintero Garzola GC 45 , Ramos-Diaz J 46 , Rigaud K 41 , Rousseau A 47 , De Tubino SM 48 , Schulmeyer MK 49 , Sharan P 50 , Shibata M 19 , Shoib S 51 , Sigre-Leirós V 7 , Sniewski L 17 , Spasovski O 52 , Steibliene V 9 , Stein DJ 53 , Strizek J 54 , Štulhofer A 30 , Ünsal BC 1 , Vaillancourt-Morel MP 55 , Claire Van Hout M 56 , Bőthe B 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
  • 2 University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
  • 3 Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
  • 4 Jaume I University, Castellón de la Plana, Spain
  • 5 Sigmund Freud University Vienna, Austria
  • 6 Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
  • 7 University of Lausanne, Switzerland
  • 8 University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
  • 9 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
  • 10 National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico
  • 11 Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
  • 12 University of Valencia, Spain
  • 13 Fuzhou University, China
  • 14 The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
  • 15 Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  • 16 University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
  • 17 Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
  • 18 Nottingham Trent University, UK
  • 19 Kyoto University, Japan
  • 20 HELP University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 21 University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
  • 22 Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 23 University of Haifa, Israel
  • 24 Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
  • 25 Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland
  • 26 The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
  • 27 University of Baghdad, Iraq
  • 28 Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Bangladesh
  • 29 Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Tunja, Colombia
  • 30 University of Zagreb, Croatia
  • 31 Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice, Slovakia
  • 32 University of Southampton, UK
  • 33 University of Galway, Ireland
  • 34 Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, South Korea
  • 35 University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar
  • 36 National Cheng Kung University, Tainan
  • 37 Stellenbosch University, South Africa
  • 38 University of Cuenca, Ecuador
  • 39 Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Perú
  • 40 James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
  • 41 Artois University, Arras, France
  • 42 Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
  • 43 Universidad Católica del Maule, Maule, Chile
  • 44 Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile
  • 45 Florida State University, Panama City, Republic of Panama
  • 46 Universidad Privada del Norte, Lima, Perú
  • 47 KU Leuven, Belgium
  • 48 Western University, London, Canada
  • 49 Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
  • 50 All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
  • 51 Sharda University, Greater Noida, India
  • 52 Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, North Macedonia
  • 53 University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
  • 54 Austrian Public Health Institute, Vienna, Austria
  • 55 Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
  • 56 South East Technological University, IrelandSouth East Technological University, Ireland
Assessment, 2025 Mar 18.
PMID: 40099831 DOI: 10.1177/10731911241312757

Abstract

Sexual assertiveness (SA) is an important concept in understanding sexual well-being and decision-making. However, psychometric evaluation of existing measures of SA in diverse populations is largely lacking, hindering cross-cultural and comparative studies. This study validated the short version of the Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9) and examined its measurement invariance across several languages, countries, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses among 65,448 sexually-active adults (Mage = 32.98 years, SD = 12.08, 58% women, 2.74% gender-diverse individuals) taking part in the International Sex Survey. The scale demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Measurement invariance tests indicated that the SAQ-9 is suitable for comparing individuals from different cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses, and significant group differences were also noted (e.g., gender-diverse individuals reported the highest levels of SA). Findings suggest that the SAQ-9 is a reliable and valid measure of SA and appropriate for use in diverse populations, with specific populations exhibiting varying levels of SA.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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