Sexual Scripts Overlap Scale—Short Version

Abstract

The Sexual Scripts Overlap Scale—Short Version (SSOS-S) is a specialized psychological instrument designed by Štulhofer and Landripet to retrospectively measure the influence of sexually explicit material (SEM), or pornography, on an individual’s sexual socialization. It was developed to address the limitations of earlier, brief, and direct measures that were highly susceptible to social desirability bias and normative expectations.

The scale is grounded in the theory of sexual scripts, which posits that pornographic narratives compete with other available social scripts in shaping personal sexual expectations. The original 42-item SSOS was condensed into the 20-item SSOS-S for improved efficiency and psychometric robustness. The SSOS-S quantifies the discrepancy, or overlap, between a respondent’s personal ideal of “great sex” and their perception of the “pornographic depiction of sex.” Higher resulting SSOS-S scores are interpreted as signifying greater overlap, thereby suggesting a stronger influence of pornographic scripts on the individual’s formation of personal sexual beliefs and expectations.

Keywords

Sexual Scripts Overlap Scale, SSOS-S, Sexual Scripts, Pornography, Sexual Socialization, Sexually Explicit Material, Sexual Performance, Sexual Intimacy, Psychometrics.

Authors

Aleksandar Štulhofer, Ivan Landripet

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SSOS-S is to quantify the extent to which an individual’s personal beliefs and expectations about sex align with, or overlap with, the common narratives and tropes presented in pornography (sexually explicit material). This retrospective assessment provides a robust metric for studying the mediated effects of early exposure to SEM on subsequent sexual outcomes, such as sexual satisfaction and the formation of sexual ideals among young adults.

The scale’s comparative script assessment methodology was designed to overcome the limitations inherent in previous simple measures that relied solely on direct self-rated influence. These direct measures were often compromised by normative expectations and the desire to provide socially acceptable answers. By utilizing the SSOS-S, researchers gain a more subtle and arguably more objective measure of script internalization during the process of sexual socialization.

Construct

The SSOS-S measures the degree of convergence between two distinct cognitive frameworks: the individual’s personal sexual script (what they personally deem “great sex”) and their perception of the pornographic sexual script (how sex is typically depicted in SEM). This convergence is operationalized as the Sexual Scripts Overlap.

The original SSOS inventory, from which the short version was derived, covered five crucial dimensions related to sexual socialization: (a) personal and partner sexual role expectations, (b) content of “successful” sex, (c) sexiness and body image, (d) relationship between emotions, intimacy, and sexuality, and (e) power dynamics within a sexual relationship. The SSOS-S, while shorter (20 items), retains the core capability of assessing the internalization of these dimensions as influenced by pornographic imagery.

Validity

The construct validity of the SSOS-S was established through zero-order correlations between the scale and several theoretically relevant indicators. Significant associations (ranging from r = .21 to .50, p < .001) were found with factors such as partner intimacy, exposure to SEM during adolescence (ages 14 and 17), range of sexual experiences, the acceptance of myths about sexuality, attitudes toward SEM, and the presence of sexually compulsive thoughts and behaviors. All observed associations were in the expected theoretical direction across both validation samples.

Convergent validity was supported by relating SSOS-S scores to the reported real-life desirability of SEM-portrayed sexuality (e.g., the extent to which one would like their sex life to resemble a pornographic movie), the personal importance assigned to SEM, and the perceived realism of pornographic depictions. These relationships were significant and moderately strong (r = .35 to .40, p < .001). Furthermore, the SSOS-S demonstrated discriminant validity by effectively differentiating between male and female participants (women reported lesser overlap, p < .001) and between users of mainstream versus nonmainstream SEM (users of nonmainstream content, such as S&M, B&D, or fetishism, reported higher overlap, p < .05).

Reliability

The internal consistency of the SSOS-S was assessed across validation samples, including a study involving 356 U.S. college students. The obtained reliability, measured using Cronbach’s α, was .88. This value is considered satisfactory for a psychological scale and confirms the high internal consistency of the 20-item short version of the instrument.

Factor Analysis

Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the 20-item SSOS-S using the 2006 dataset. Initial analysis indicated the presence of four factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, accounting for 57% of the total item variance. However, based on the results of a scree test, a more theoretically meaningful and parsimonious forced two-factor solution was preferred.

This two-factor structure yielded two main dimensions: the Sexual Intimacy factor (composed of 10 items) and the Sexual Performance factor (composed of the remaining 10 items). Items exhibited high loadings (greater than .4) on their respective factors. This clear structure and the pattern of factor loadings were successfully replicated in the subsequent 2007 validation sample, thereby confirming the structural integrity and robustness of the two-factor model for the SSOS-S.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Composite differential measure

Format: 20 paired items using a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: Croatian (Original development) and English (Validated in U.S. college students).

Population Group: Sexually active young adults

Age Group: 18–25 years old (Validated range)

Population Details: Sexually active young adults with at least some experience with SEM. Initial development used Croatian college students; subsequent validation included large online survey samples (N=1,914 and N=600) and U.S. college students (N=356).

Test Methodology: Respondents complete two separate inventories within the same questionnaire: one assessing the importance of 20 items for their definition of “great sex” (the “Great Sex Script”), and a second assessing the importance of the same 20 items for the “pornographic depiction of sex” (the “Pornographic Script”). Responses are anchored on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = Not at all Important to 5 = Exceptionally Important. The overall score is calculated by subtracting the pornographic item value from the great sex item value for each pair, ignoring negative signs. The final additive SSOS-S score is reverse recoded (80–n), meaning that higher scores indicate greater overlap between the two scripts.

Keywords

Pornography use, Sexual expectations, Psychometric assessment, Sexual Intimacy, Sexual Performance, Cronbach’s alpha, Validity, Reliability, Likert scale.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided

Correspondence Address: University of Zagreb, Croatia (Affiliation)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original SSOS was developed and validated through online surveys conducted in 2006 and 2007. The SSOS-S (Short Version) was subsequently developed and validated based on these results. Information regarding specific permissions for use or associated fees is not provided in the source material.

Reference’s

• Kalichman, S. C., & Rompa, D. (1995). Sexual sensation seeking and sexual compulsivity scales: Reliability, validity, and predicting HIV risk behaviors. Journal of Personality Assessment, 65, 586–602.
• Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (2003). Sexual scripts: Origins, influences and changes. Qualitative Sociology, 26, 491–497.
• Štulhofer, A., Buško, V., & Landripet, I. (2010). Pornography, sexual socialization and sexual satisfaction among young men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 168–178.

Items of the Sexual Scripts Overlap Scale—Short Version

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

The “Great Sex” Script Items The Pornographic Script Items

How important for great sex do you personally find: a How important for pornographic depiction of sex do you find: 1 = Not at all 2 = Somewhat 3 = Moderately 4 = A Great Deal 5 = Exceptionally

1. I am always ready for sex b 1. Men are always ready for sex

2. My partner is always ready to have sex c 2. Women are always ready for sex

3. It is easy to initiate sex 3. (same)

4. Sex is possible in any situation 4. (same)‌

5. Oral sex 5. (same)

6. Anal sex 6. (same)

7. Partner’s sexual pleasure 7. (same)

8. Emotions, love 8. (same)

9. Intimate communication 9. (same)

10. Penetration 10. (same)

11. Being constantly horny b 11. Men are constantly horny

12. Partner is constantly horny c 12. Women are constantly horny

13. Trust in partner 13. (same)

14. Commitment 14. (same)‌

15. Intense passion 15. (same)

16. Feeling safe and well cared for 16. (same)

17. Spontaneity 17. (same)

18. Imagination 18. (same)

19. Unselfishness 19. (same)

20. “Pumping” (fast and deep penetration) 20. (same)

• aThe questions regarding the “great sex” script should be placed closer to the beginning of the questionnaire, whereas the questions concerning the pornographic script should be closer to the end.
• bIf a respondent is male, the item should be paired with the corresponding item on the pornography inventory; if a respondent is female, the item should be paired with the next item on the pornography inventory.
• cThe item should be paired according to participant’s sexual orientation.