Inventory of Dyadic Heterosexual Preferences and Inventory of Dyadic Heterosexual Preferences—Other

Abstract

The Inventory of Dyadic Heterosexual Preferences (IDHP) is a 27-item self-report inventory developed by Purnine, Carey, and Jorgensen (1996). Its primary purpose is to quantify men’s and women’s affinity for a wide spectrum of conventional sexual behavior preferences specifically within the context of a dyadic heterosexual relationship. The IDHP yields six distinct scales reflecting different domains of behavioral preference: Erotophilia, Use of Contraception, Conventionality, Use of Erotica, Use of Drugs/Alcohol, and Romantic Foreplay.

The scale is valuable for researchers investigating correlations between specific sexual preference profiles and various behavioral, personality, or dyadic variables. A complementary version, the Inventory of Dyadic Heterosexual Preferences—Other (IDHP-O), is also available. The IDHP-O requires the respondent to predict how their partner would answer the items on the IDHP, facilitating the study of dyadic understanding and perceived agreement.

Keywords

Dyadic preferences, Heterosexual behavior, Sexual preferences, Erotophilia, Conventionality, Sexual measurement, Psychometric scale, Dyadic assessment, Sexual satisfaction.

Authors

Daniel M. Purnine, Michael P. Carey, Randall S. Jorgensen.

Purpose

The central purpose of the IDHP is to provide a standardized, psychometrically sound measure of the range of conventional sexual behaviors preferred by individuals within a heterosexual dyad. By focusing on preferences rather than current behavior, the scale offers insight into potential compatibility and areas of difference between partners.

For clinical applications, specifically in sex therapy, the IDHP and IDHP-O allow therapists to compare the sexual preference profiles of partners, identifying discrepancies or similarities that may contribute to relationship issues. For research, the six derived scales enable detailed exploration of how specific domains of sexual affinity relate to broader psychological constructs and relationship outcomes.

Construct

The IDHP measures six specific dimensions related to sexual preference within a dyadic context. These dimensions, derived through factor analysis, represent the underlying construct of conventional sexual preference:

• Erotophilia: Measures comfort, interest, and initiation of sexual activity.
• Use of Contraception: Reflects attitudes and comfort regarding the use of contraceptives (e.g., condoms, spermicide).
• Conventionality: Measures preference for traditional or private sexual settings and behaviors (e.g., lights off, avoiding sex during menstruation).
• Use of Erotica: Measures interest in using sexual aids, vibrators, or consuming explicit media (books, movies).
• Use of Drugs/Alcohol: Measures the affinity for mixing substance use (alcohol, marijuana, drugs) with sexual activity.
• Romantic Foreplay: Measures the preference for intimate, non-coital activities and romantic settings preceding sex.

Validity

Concurrent and discriminant validity were assessed using a subgroup of 65 participants (45 women, 20 men) from Sample 2, comparing the IDHP scales against seven additional measures. Overall, 36 out of 42 predicted correlations in the 6 x 7 matrix were supported, indicating good concurrent validity.

Crucially, the IDHP showed strong discriminant evidence against social desirability bias, demonstrating no significant relationship with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). Specific scales demonstrated clear validity: The Use of Contraception scale correlated only with the Affective Response Toward Contraceptive Topics and Behavior (Kelley, 1979) measure. Conventionality was related to factors of “conformity” and “cautious control” on the Sexual Irrationality Questionnaire (Jordan & McCormick, 1988). The Use of Drugs/Alcohol scale correlated exclusively with the global and sexual subscales of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (Brown, Christiansen, & Goldman, 1987).

However, discriminant validity was lacking for the Erotophilia scale, which, while correlating highly with the Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS; Fisher et al., 1988), also showed relationships with Use of Erotica, Use of Drugs/Alcohol, and Conventionality. This overlap is partially attributed to the use of oblique factor rotation, which allows for correlations between factors. Validity for the Romantic Foreplay and Use of Erotica scales remains unsupported due to a lack of correlation with their respective criterion measure or the absence of a relevant criterion measure, respectively.

Reliability

The IDHP scales exhibit strong internal consistency and stability over time, based on data from Sample 2 (N = 228). The mean Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient across the six scales was .72, indicating acceptable internal consistency. The scales also demonstrated high stability, with a mean test-retest reliability correlation (r) of .84 over a 2-week interval (N = 65). Item analysis during the development phase required a test-retest reliability of .70 for each individual item to be retained.

The psychometric properties for each scale, based on Sample 2, are summarized below:

			Means (SD)
Scale	Alpha	Test-Retest
	Coefficients	Correlationsa	Male		Female
1. Erotophilia	.73	.84	4.77	(.56)	4.27	(.73)
2. Use of Contraception	.65	.80	4.36	(.93)	4.59	(.84)
3. Conventionality	.59	.83	2.89	(.83)	3.20	(.91)
4. Use of Erotica	.83	.92	4.04	(.97)	3.22	(1.12)
5. Use of Drugs/Alcohol	.87	.91	3.15	(1.34)	2.43	(1.18)
6. Romantic Foreplay	.62	.73	4.43	(.71)	4.91	(.71)

Note: The test-retest interval was 2 weeks, utilizing 65 subjects (45 women and 20 men).

Factor Analysis

The development of the IDHP began with the generation of 74 statements applicable to both men and women, designed to measure specific behaviors or elements of a sexual scene. Initial items concerning fantasy, opinion, or motivation were largely excluded. Items utilized the perfect tense (“I would enjoy”) to ensure applicability even to individuals not currently engaged in a sexually intimate relationship.

The 74 items were initially administered to 258 university students (Sample 1). After eliminating unreliable items or those lacking a broad range of responses, 46 items remained. Subsequent Factor analysis led to a final six-factor, 27-item solution. This solution was deliberately based on a covariance matrix with gender variance removed, a critical step to ensure a gender-neutral factor structure. This neutrality allows for meaningful comparisons between the preference profiles of male and female partners, which is essential for dyadic research.

This factor structure was cross-validated using a second sample (Sample 2, N=228). During cross-validation, six items were reworded for clarity, and three new items were introduced. A six-factor maximum likelihood solution with promax rotation confirmed the structure, resulting in the final 27-item inventory. This final solution accounted for 51% of the total variance among the 27 items.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report inventory (Psychological Scale)

Format: Paper/pencil format, utilizing a 6-point Likert-type scale (ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree).

Language Available: English (Original development language).

Population Group: Heterosexual individuals, both male and female.

Age Group: Adults (initial samples ranged from 17 to 59 years).

Population Details: Initial development samples consisted primarily of undergraduate and graduate university students.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with statements regarding how they would like things to be in relations with their partner. Completion time is approximately 5 minutes for the IDHP and an additional 5 minutes for the IDHP-O.

Scoring

Higher scores on any of the six IDHP scales indicate a stronger preference for the behaviors associated with that scale. The scoring procedure involves two key steps:

IDHP Scale Scores (Individual Preferences): Three items (3, 24, and 26) must be reverse scored by subtracting the circled number from 7. The six scale scores are then derived by summing the items corresponding to each factor:

• Erotophilia: Items 1, 7, 8, 11, 16, 17, 18.
• Use of Contraception: Items 3 (R), 6, 13, 26 (R).
• Conventionality: Items 5, 10, 22, 23.
• Use of Erotica: Items 4, 9, 24 (R), 27.
• Use of Drugs/Alcohol: Items 12, 14, 15, 20.
• Romantic Foreplay: Items 2, 19, 21, 25.

To standardize the scales, resulting in scores ranging from 1 to 6, the sums may be divided by the number of items aggregated for that scale.

Exploratory Dyadic Scores: The IDHP-O facilitates the calculation of several exploratory dyadic variables through correlational procedures or difference-scores (summing the absolute value of point differences across the 27 items). These variables include: Agreement (similarity between partners’ IDHP scores), Female Understanding (comparing male’s IDHP with female’s IDHP-O), Male Understanding (comparing female’s IDHP with male’s IDHP-O), and Perceived Agreement (difference between one’s own IDHP and IDHP-O).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1996 (Year of publication of the primary development and psychometric evaluation paper).

Permissions & Fee: Not specified in the source content; typically, researchers should contact the authors or the journal publisher (Behaviour Research and Therapy) for permissions regarding usage.

Reference’s

• Brown, S. A., Christiansen, B. A., & Goldman, M. S. (1987). The Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire: An instrument for the assessment of adolescent and adult alcohol expectancies. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 48, 483–491.

• Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349–354.

• Fisher, W. A., White, L. A., Byrne, D., & Kelley, K. (1988). Erotophilia-erotophobia as a dimension of personality. The Journal of Sex Research, 25, 123–151.

• Jordan, T. J., & McCormick, N. B. (1988). Sexual Irrationality Questionnaire. In C. M. Davis, W. L. Yarber, & S. L. Davis (Eds.), Sexually-related measures: A compendium (pp. 46–49). Lake Mills, IA: Graphic Publishing Company.

• Kelley, K. (1979). Socialization factors in contraceptive attitudes: Roles of affective responses, parental attitudes, and sexual experience. The Journal of Sex Research, 15, 6–20.

• Purnine, D. M., Carey, M. P., & Jorgensen, R. S. (1996). The Inventory of Dyadic Heterosexual Preferences: Development and psychometric evaluation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 375–387.

Items of the Inventory of Dyadic Heterosexual Preferences and Inventory of Dyadic Heterosexual Preferences—Other

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

Instructions. a Please read the following statements carefully and indicate how much you agree or disagree that the statement is true for you. Respond to each item as you would actually like things to be in relations with your partner. Feel free to ask the investigator about any statement that is not clear to you. Please respond to all items.

There are no right or wrong answers; respond as truthfully as possible.

1. 1. I would like to initiate sex.

      Strongly agree	Agree	Somewhat agree	Somewhat disagree	Disagree	Strongly b disagree
      6	5	4	3	2	1

   2. An intimate, romantic dinner together would be a real turn on to me.

   3. Using spermicide would spoil sex for me.

   4. I would like to use a vibrator or other sexual toy (or aid) during sex.

   5. I would prefer to have sex under the bedcovers and with the lights off.

   6. Having myself or my partner use a condom would not spoil sex for me.

   7. Having sex in rooms other than the bedroom would turn me on.

   8. I would prefer to have sex everyday.

   9. Looking at sexually explicit books and movies would turn me on.

   10. I would not enjoy looking at my partner’s genitals.

   11. I would like to have sex after a day at the beach.

   12. I would like to mix alcohol and sex.

   13. Using a contraceptive would not affect my sexual satisfaction or pleasure.

   14. I would enjoy having sex after smoking marijuana.

   15. I would prefer to have sex while using drugs that make me feel aroused.

   16. I would enjoy having sex outdoors.

   17. My preferred time for having sex is in the morning.

   18. Swimming in the nude with my partner would be a turn-on.

   19. I would enjoy dressing in sexy/revealing clothes to arouse my partner.

   20. I would like to mix drugs and sex.

   21. I would get turned on if my partner touched my chest and nipples.

   22. I would prefer to avoid having sex during my (partner’s) period.

   23. I would not enjoy having my partner look at my genitals.

   24. Sexually explicit books and movies are disgusting to me.

   25. I would find deep kissing with the tongue quite arousing to me.

   26. Using a vaginal lubricant (KY jelly) would spoil sex for me.‌

   27. Watching erotic movies with my partner would turn me on.

Instructions for the IDHP-O: Please read the following statements carefully and indicate how much you believe that your partner would agree or disagree that the statement is true for him/her. That is, respond to each item as you think your partner would respond—how he or she would actually like things to be in relations with you.

Note: The 6-point scale (Strongly agree (6) to Strongly disagree (1)) is repeated after each item.