Sexual History and Adjustment Questionnaire

Abstract

The Sexual History and Adjustment Questionnaire (SHAQ) is a psychometric instrument designed to gather retrospective reports from older adolescents and adults regarding various aspects of their childhood environment related to sexuality and physical affection, and how these experiences relate to current sexual adjustment. The measure is structured into several domains. Items 1–10 focus on childhood experiences with nudity and sleeping in the parental bed during two age periods (0–5 years and 6–11 years). Items 11–19 assess perceptions of parental attitudes toward sexuality, comfort discussing sexual matters, and the frequency of physical affection demonstrated within the family. Finally, Items 20–29 evaluate the participant’s current sexual behavior and self-attitudes, while Item 30 specifically measures discomfort related to family physical contact and affection.

Keywords

Sexual History, Sexual Adjustment, Parental Attitudes, Childhood Nudity, Retrospective Report, Sexual Behavior, Psychometric Scale

Authors

Robin J. Lewis, Louis H. Janda

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Sexual History and Adjustment Questionnaire (SHAQ) is to systematically quantify retrospective reports of childhood experiences that researchers hypothesize may influence adult sexual adjustment. The scale specifically aims to capture details regarding the frequency and context of early exposure to nudity (both parental and peer), co-sleeping frequency with parents, and the emotional climate surrounding sexual discussion and physical affection within the family unit.

By assessing these distinct facets of childhood experience alongside measures of current sexual functioning and attitudes, the SHAQ provides a framework for investigating potential developmental links. The scale is crucial for research examining the long-term impact of parental attitudes and early environmental factors on the formation of adult sexual identity and comfort, as demonstrated in the foundational work published by Lewis and Janda (1988).

Construct

The SHAQ measures a multidimensional construct encompassing both historical environmental variables and current psychological adjustment related to sexuality. The core constructs assessed are primarily divided into three areas: Childhood Environmental Exposure, Parental Socialization of Sexuality, and Current Sexual Adjustment.

The Childhood Environmental Exposure construct is measured by retrospective reports of frequency of sleeping in the parental bed and seeing parents or peers naked during two critical developmental windows (ages 0–5 and 6–11). The Parental Socialization of Sexuality construct focuses on perceived parental attitudes (positive vs. negative), perceived parental discomfort, and the participant’s own comfort level in discussing sexual matters with parents. The final construct, Current Sexual Adjustment, involves self-perception (e.g., self-esteem, happiness with sex life), sexual behavior patterns (e.g., casual relationships, activity level), and experiences of sexual problems or guilt.

Validity

Formal validation studies for the Sexual History and Adjustment Questionnaire have not been formally reported in the source material. However, the measure possesses clear face validity, meaning the items appear, on the surface, to measure the constructs they intend to assess—specifically, childhood experiences and current sexual adjustment.

To establish empirical validity, future investigators are strongly encouraged to correlate the various subscales of the SHAQ with established measures of both sexual adjustment (a concept defined by the World Health Organization, or WHO) and general family attitude scales. Furthermore, given the sensitive nature of the retrospective self-report items, researchers should examine the potential influence of social desirability response sets. Correlating SHAQ responses with established measures of social desirability, such as the short forms of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Reynolds, 1982), is recommended to provide crucial data on response bias.

Reliability

Internal consistency reliability was examined for several potential subscales using Coefficient Alpha. The results indicate acceptable to good reliability across the primary derived subscales, suggesting that items within these groupings are consistently measuring the same underlying construct.

The internal consistency statistics for the key subscales are summarized below. Researchers can construct these subscales based on their specific research focus, although the authors caution that maternal and paternal attitudes may function differently and should be analyzed both separately and globally. Importantly, the source material notes that no formal test-retest reliability data have been obtained for this measure.

• Parental Nudity Subscale (Sum Items 1, 2, 3, 4): .74
• Overall Nudity Subscale (Sum Items 1–8): .77
• Parental Bed Subscale (Sum Items 9–10): .80
• Maternal Attitudes Subscale (Sum Items 11, 13, 15): .77
• Paternal Attitudes Subscale (Sum Items 12, 14, 16): .78
• Overall Attitudes Subscale (Sum Items 11–16): .78

Factor Analysis

The source content does not provide information regarding formal factor analysis of the Sexual History and Adjustment Questionnaire. The existing subscales were constructed based on theoretical interests and content alignment (e.g., grouping all nudity items or all parental attitude items). The authors’ research (Lewis & Janda, 1988) suggests a distinction between maternal and paternal attitudes, implying that a confirmatory or exploratory factor analysis might identify separate factors for these parental influences.

Investigators are advised to conduct appropriate statistical analyses to confirm the underlying factor structure of the SHAQ, particularly if they intend to utilize global measures of attitudes or sexual adjustment. Given the distinct nature of the item clusters (retrospective environment, parental attitudes, current adjustment), it is highly likely that a factor analysis would yield multiple, distinct dimensions reflecting these different constructs.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Questionnaire (Retrospective and Current Assessment)

Format: 30 items administered using varying 5-point Likert-type scales, depending on the section.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population

Age Group: Older adolescents and adults

Population Details: Appropriate for individuals capable of providing reflective, retrospective reports regarding their childhood and current sexual adjustment.

Test Methodology: Respondents circle the number (1 to 5) corresponding to the answer that best reflects their experience or attitude. Scoring may involve summing items across specific subscales (e.g., Parental Nudity Index) or examining individual responses, depending on the research objectives.

Keywords

Psychological Measurement, Sexual Development, Co-sleeping, Parental Nudity, Sexual Attitudes, Internal Consistency, Psychometrics

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Robin J. Lewis)

Correspondence Address: Robin J. Lewis, Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529–0267

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The source material does not specify formal permissions or associated fees for use of the scale. The measure was utilized in research published in 1988 (Lewis & Janda), suggesting development occurred around or prior to that year.

Reference’s

Lewis, R. J., & Janda, L. H. (1988). The relationship between adult sexual adjustment and childhood experiences regarding exposure to nudity, sleeping in the parental bed, and parental attitudes toward sexuality. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 17, 349–362.

Reynolds, W. M. (1982). Development of reliable and valid short forms of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 119–125.

Items of the Sexual History and Adjustment Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Retrospective Reports of Childhood Experiences with Nudity and Sleeping in the Parental Bed

Please use the following scale for questions 1–10:

1. When you were between the ages of 0–5, how often do you remember seeing your mother naked?

2. When you were between the ages of 6–11, how often do you remember seeing your mother naked?

3. When you were between the ages of 0–5, how often do you remember seeing your father naked?

4. When you were between the ages of 6–11, how often do you remember seeing your father naked?

5. When you were between the ages of 0–5, how often do you remember seeing your same-sex siblings or friends naked?

6. When you were between the ages of 6–11, how often do you remember seeing your same-sex siblings or friends naked?

7. When you were between the ages of 0–5, how often do you remember seeing your opposite-sex siblings or friends naked?

8. When you were between the ages of 6–11, how often do you remember seeing your opposite-sex siblings or friends naked?

9. When you were between the ages of 0–5, how often do you remember sleeping in the same bed as your parents?

10. When you were between the ages of 6–11, how often do you remember sleeping in the same bed as your parents?

    Parental Attitudes Items

    Please use the following scale for questions 11–14:

    1	2	3	4	5
    extreme	moderate	neither comfort	moderate	extreme
    discomfort	discomfort	nor discomfort	comfort	comfort

11. In general, over the course of your childhood, please rate the degree of comfort you felt in talking about sexual matters with your mother:

12. In general, over the course of your childhood, please rate the degree of comfort you felt in talking about sexual matters with your father:

13. While you were growing up, please rate the degree of comfort you think your mother felt when talking about sexuality:

14. While you were growing up, please rate the degree of comfort you think your father felt when talking about sexuality:

15. How would you characterize your mother’s attitude toward sexuality when you were growing up?

    1	2	3	4	5
    extremely	moderately	neither positive	moderately	extremely
    negative	negative	nor negative	positive	positive

16. How would you characterize your father’s attitude toward sexuality when you were growing up?

    1	2	3	4	5
    extremely	moderately	neither positive	moderately	extremely
    negative	negative	nor negative	positive	positive

17. Overall, how well do you feel that your upbringing prepared you to deal with issues of sexuality and sexual relationships?

    1	2	3	4	5
    not at all	poorly	adequately	pretty well	very well

18. How often do you remember issues of sexuality being discussed in your home when you were growing up?

    1	2	3	4	5
    almost never	rarely	sometimes	often	very often

19. In general, how often was there physical contact/affection displayed in your family?

    1	2	3	4	5
    almost never	rarely	sometimes	often	very often

    Sexual Adjustment Items

    Please use the following scale for questions 20–29:

    1	2	3	4	5
    strongly	somewhat	neither agree	somewhat	strongly
    disagree	disagree	nor disagree	agree	agree

20. I feel good about myself.

21. I experience guilt or anxiety when it comes to my sex life.

22. I am happy with my sex life.

23. I am heterosexual.

24. I have sex more often than most people of my age and situation (e.g., married versus single).

25. I tend to engage in casual sexual relationships.

26. I have experienced sexual problems.

27. I would like my sex life to be more active than it is.

28. I am very consistent in making certain that birth control is a part of my sexual encounters.

29. I am knowledgeable about sex.

30. Regarding physical contact and affection in your family how often do you remember having feelings of discomfort about this contact?