Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory

Abstract

The Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory (GSBI; Garos, 2009; Garos & Stock, 1998a, 1998b) is a comprehensive 70-item psychological assessment tool developed to evaluate various cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of an individual’s overall sexual adjustment. Its foundational objective was to establish a conceptual model for investigating constructs related to disorders of sexual frequency and control.

The GSBI is designed primarily to assist forensic specialists and mental health professionals in making informed assessments and treatment decisions regarding problems associated with sexuality and sexual behavior. It has demonstrated efficacy across diverse clinical settings, including use with victims of sexual abuse, individuals with substance abuse issues, those exhibiting compulsive sexual behavior, and forensic populations such as sex offenders. Furthermore, the instrument is versatile enough for non-clinical applications, such as couples counseling, where it helps identify differences in sexual values and comfort levels.

Keywords

Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory, GSBI, Sexual adjustment, Paraphilic interests, Sexual obsession, Permissiveness, Discordance, Forensic assessment, Sexual stimulation, Compulsive sexual behavior, Factor analysis.

Authors

Sheila Garos, William A. Stock.

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Purpose

The GSBI serves as a critical diagnostic and treatment-planning tool for professionals dealing with sexual dysfunction and related behavioral issues. By evaluating the multifaceted dimensions of sexual adjustment—cognitive, affective, and behavioral—the scale provides a nuanced understanding of an individual’s internal conflicts and external manifestations of sexual difficulties.

The instrument is particularly valuable in clinical and correctional settings for classifying and understanding populations known to struggle with impulse control and sexual deviance, such as those with paraphilic interests or those requiring intervention for addictive or compulsive sexual behavior. The scale’s utility also extends to general mental health practice, offering insights into sexual values and comfort levels relevant to individual and relationship therapy.

Construct

The GSBI is fundamentally constructed to measure the underlying components of disorders related to sexual frequency and control. The final 70-item inventory comprises four main scales and three masking scales, alongside an Inconsistent Responding index designed to enhance response integrity.

The four main scales provide distinct measurements of sexual adjustment:

• Discordance: Measures the overall quality of sexual adjustment, encompassing feelings of shame, fear, and internal conflict regarding sexual interests and activities.
• Sexual Obsession: Quantifies the degree of mental preoccupation with sexual themes and stimuli.
• Permissiveness: Assesses the respondent’s attitudes and values concerning sex, ranging across the spectrum of conservative to unconventional views.
• Sexual Stimulation: Reflects the individual’s comfort level and ease with experiencing sexual arousal.

The three masking scales are incorporated to reduce the likelihood of defensive responding, thereby improving the accuracy of the self-report data:

• Sexual Control Difficulties
• Sexual Excitability
• Sexual Insecurity

Validity

The validity of the GSBI has been systematically established through studies examining factorial, convergent, and discriminant properties, demonstrating its ability to measure intended constructs and differentiate between clinical groups.

Factorial Validity: Factorial integrity was secured by replicating the conceptual factor structure across two major studies (Garos & Stock, 1998a, 1998b). The final factor structure obtained in Study 1 was successfully replicated for males, females, and the total sample in Study 2, confirming the stability and consistency of the measured dimensions.

Convergent and Discriminant Validity: Discriminant validity and convergent validity were assessed by correlating GSBI subscales with established measures such as the Sexual Addiction Screening Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The resulting correlation coefficients (ranging from .05 to .52) aligned with theoretical predictions, confirming that the GSBI subscales are independent yet conceptually related to other psychological measures.

Clinical and Predictive Validity: The scale exhibits strong clinical utility, particularly the Discordance subscale, which emerged as the most significant predictor in distinguishing incarcerated sex offenders from non-sex offenders (Garos et al., 2004). A discriminant function analysis correctly classified 84.2% of all cases. Furthermore, a logistic regression confirmed Discordance as the strongest predictor, achieving an 82.8% positive predictive value for the sex offender category, which significantly improved classification relative to the base rate. The GSBI subscales were also shown to be sensitive to change following experiential therapy for sexual addiction (Klontz, Garos & Klontz, 2005).

Reliability

The reliability of the GSBI has been documented through analyses of internal consistency and temporal stability (test-retest reliability).

Internal Consistency: Internal reliability coefficients (coefficient alpha) for the main subscales demonstrated solid consistency across both Study 1 (N=500) and Study 2 (N=1,000). For the total sample in Study 2, coefficient alphas ranged from .70 (Permissiveness) to .82 (Discordance). The masking scales also showed high internal consistency, with Control reporting an alpha of .85, Excitement .82, and Insecurity .74 (Garos, 2009).

Test-Retest Reliability: Test-retest reliability, assessed over a 19-day interval in Study 2, indicated stable measurements. Coefficients were reported as high as .84 for Sexual Obsession and .79 for Sexual Stimulation, demonstrating acceptable temporal stability for the key subscales.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the GSBI was determined through a rigorous, multi-step process involving factor analysis, guided by expert consultation and rational item derivation.

Initial items were subjected to a principle components factor analysis using the varimax procedure to test the adequacy of the initial conceptual model. In a second, confirmatory study, the 70-item GSBI was analyzed using a maximum likelihood factor analysis with oblique rotation. This procedure successfully confirmed the conceptual dimensions believed to underlie the instrument, leading to the final structure of four main scales and three masking scales.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological inventory.

Format: 70 items. Responses are gathered using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Completion time is typically 20 to 30 minutes. To ensure confidentiality, items are printed on a reusable Administration Card, separate from the AutoScore Form used for recording responses.

Language Available: English (Primary).

Population Group: Clinical, forensic, and non-clinical adults, including specific subgroups such as sex offenders, substance abusers, and individuals with compulsive sexual behaviors.

Age Group: Adults (Normative data spans ages 17 to 104).

Population Details: The scale is normed on a large non-clinical population, with approximately equal representation of males and females. The manual also provides comparison data for specific clinical and correctional subgroups.

Test Methodology: Standardized administration yielding normalized T-scores for all main and masking scales. The use of normalized scores allows for direct comparison of an individual’s performance across different subscales and external tests.

Keywords

Sexual assessment, Psychometrics, T-scores, Sexual addiction, Compulsive sexual behavior, Likert scale, Internal conflict, Sexual values, Treatment planning, Forensic specialists.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Sheila Garos, Psychology Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2051

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory is copyrighted by Western Psychological Services (WPS). The GSBI test manual was published in 2009, with foundational studies dating back to 1998.

Testing materials and licensing information are available from the publisher:

Western Psychological Services

12031 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025-1251

Telephone: (800) 648–8857

Website: www.wpspublish.com

Reference’s

• Beck, A. T., Ward, A. T., Mendelson, C. H., Mock, M., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 53–63.
• Carnes, P. (1992). Out of the shadows: Understanding sexual addiction (2nd ed.). Center City, MN: Hazelden.
• Fisher, W. A., Byrne, D., White, L. A., & Kelley, K. (1988). Erotopho- bia-erotophilia as a dimension of personality. The Journal of Sex Research, 25, 123–151.
• Garos, S. (2009). Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory test manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
• Garos, S., Bleckley, K. M., Beggan, J. K., & Frizzell, J. (2004). The relationship between intrapsychic conflict and deviant sexual behavior in sex offenders. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 40, 23–38.
• Garos, S., & Stock, W. A. (1998a). Investigating the discriminant validity and differentiating capability of the Garos Sexual Behavior Index. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 5, 251–267.
• Garos, S., & Stock, W. A. (1998b). Measuring disorders of sexual frequency and control: The Garos Sexual Behavior Index. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 5, 159–177.
• Klontz, B., Garos, S., & Klontz, P. (2005). The effectiveness of multimodal experiential therapy in the treatment of sexual addiction. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 12, 275–294.
• Rosenberg, M. (1962). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park.
• Snell, W., & Papini, D. (1989). The sexuality scale: An instrument to measure sexual esteem, sexual depression and sexual preoccupation. The Journal of Sex Research, 26, 756–763.
• Zuckerman, M., Kuhlman, M., Joireman, J., Teta, P., & Kraft, M. (1993). A comparison of three structural models for personality: The Big Three, the Big Five, and the Alternative Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 757–768.

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Items of the Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory

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

Main Scales

Discordance Subscale

I feel uncomfortable about my sexual practices. I am afraid I am not sexually attractive enough.

Sexual Obsession

It feels impossible to stop masturbating.

Once I am aroused it is difficult not to masturbate or have sex.

Permissiveness

Birth control should be readily available to young people. Women’s sexual advances should be subtle.

Sexual Stimulation

I like not wearing underwear.

I enjoy being aroused by my sexual thoughts and feelings.

Masking Scales

Control

When I wake up from sexual dreams, I like to masturbate. Sexual thoughts overpower my better judgment.

Excitement

As a child, I was more interested in sex than my friends were.

The smell of men’s cologne/ladies’ perfume makes me think of sex.

Insecurity

It is easier to have sex if my partner is the aggressor.

I feel like a failure if I cannot keep someone sexually excited.

Sample items from the GSBI copyright © 2008 by Western Psychological Services. Reprinted for sole purpose of scholarly reference by permission of WPS, 12031 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, 90025, U.S.A., www.wpspublish.com. Not to be reprinted in whole or in part for any additional purpose without the expressed, written permission of the publisher ([email protected]). All rights reserved.