Does the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised Cover the Feelings of Women with HSDD?

Abstract

Introduction Distress associated with low sexual desire is a key feature of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). Accurate, reliable, and easy-to-use diagnostic tools to measure such distress are required. The Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised (FSDS-R) has been shown to have good discriminant validity, test–retest reliability, and internal consistency in measuring sex-related personal distress in women with HSDD. However, the content validity (relevance, clarity, comprehensiveness) of the scale must also be established. Aim The aim of this study was to assess the content validity of the FSDS-R and to examine the potential of Item 13 as a stand-alone measure of distress associated with decreased sexual desire. Methods A single-visit content validation study was conducted in three centers in the United States. Women were screened for HSDD; those with HSDD completed the FSDS-R and then underwent debriefing to capture information on their perceptions of the instrument. Participants also rated the relevancy of every FSDS-R item, from 0 (“not at all relevant”) to 4 (“extremely relevant”). Main Outcome Measures Female HSDD patients' ratings of the relevance and ease of understanding of the 13 items of the FSDS-R. Results Twenty-five women with HSDD were interviewed. Mean relevancy ratings ranged from 1.96 (Item 9) to 3.33 (Item 13). Most participants (76–100%) found every item clear and easy to understand. Item 13 alone demonstrated good content validity, and 56% of participants felt that it covered all of their feelings about their low sexual desire. Conclusions This study established the content validity of the FSDS-R and demonstrated that the FSDS-R total score is a relevant endpoint for women with HSDD. The tool's one item specific to low sexual desire (Item 13) was given the highest score and highest relevancy of all items, and over half the sample felt that it covered all of their feelings about their low sexual desire.

Psychometric Properties of the Iranian Version of the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised in Women

“…Overall, our study found the Persian version of the FSDS-R to be a reliable, valid, and easily understandable tool for the assessment of sexual distress in Iranian women. In line with findings from previous validation studies, the Iranian FSDS-R showed excellent internal consistencies across all three assessment points [22][23][24]. The tool was also highly reproducible across a week and even a 4-week interval, with the highest ICCs being found between day 7 to day 28.…”

“…The original version of the FSDS‐R demonstrated acceptable scale reliability with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from α = 0.87 to α = 0.93 and high test–retest reliability (intra‐class correlation coefficient ranging from r = 0.74 to r = 0.86) [24]. Furthermore, a unidimensional structure of the FSDS‐R was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a cutoff score of ≥11 used to discriminate between women reporting sexual distress and those not reporting any sexuality‐related personal distress [23,24].…”

Sexual Dysfunction and Distress—Development of a Polish Version of the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised

“…Similar results were presented in the original validation of the scale by Derogatis et al. for FSDS and FSDS‐R . Independently of the recall period (7 or 30 days), PL‐FSDS‐R was proven to posses high test–retest reliability and a high degree of internal consistency, with the highest test–retest reliability with a 7‐day recall period.…”

Sexual Arousal and Desire: Interrelations and Responses to Three Modalities of Sexual Stimuli

“…This feedback between arousal and desire is relevant to current debates over Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) definitions of arousal and desire disorders, providing further evidence that definitions should address the responsive rather than spontaneous nature of desire in order to avoid over‐pathologizing [5,14]. Moreover, our results suggest that context of measurement is an important issue to consider when developing and validating measures of sexual desire, in addition to factors such as reliability and content validity [69,70].…”