Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale

Abstract

The Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale (SCIRS) is a 34-item psychometric instrument designed to measure the prevalence and severity of varied forms of sexual coercion specifically within the context of an intimate relationship. Unlike previous measures that often focused only on lifetime occurrence, the SCIRS assesses the frequency and intensity of coercive acts over the past month, capturing both overt tactics (such as physical force and violence) and subtle strategies (such as emotional manipulation, hinting, and psychological pressure).

The scale utilizes a 6-point frequency response format and is available in two versions: a male version for self-reporting sexually coercive behaviors, and a female version for reporting a partner’s coercive behaviors. This differentiation allows researchers to examine the specific dynamics of coercion perpetrated by intimate partners, distinguishing it from general experiences of sexual abuse.

Keywords

Sexual Coercion, Intimate Partner Violence, Relationship Conflict, Psychological Manipulation, Mate Retention, Coercive Control, Domestic Violence, Psychometric Scale

Authors

Aaron T. Goetz, Todd K. Shackelford

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SCIRS is to provide a detailed and nuanced assessment of sexual coercion perpetrated by an intimate partner. The scale was developed to address several critical limitations found in existing measures of sexual coercion.

Specifically, the SCIRS improves upon older instruments by measuring the frequency and severity of coercive acts, rather than simply recording lifetime occurrence. Furthermore, it is designed to differentiate between sexual coercion enacted by an intimate partner versus coercion experienced in other contexts, such as childhood molestation. The scale is also unique in its ability to differentiate between various types of threats used as coercive tactics, including threats of physical harm and threats of relationship termination (defection).

Construct

The SCIRS measures the psychological and behavioral construct of sexual coercion in the context of intimate partnerships. This construct encompasses a broad range of tactics used by one partner to obtain sexual access from the other against their will.

The 34 items assess behaviors that range across a spectrum of subtlety, from communicative tactics like hinting and subtle manipulations, to more overt acts involving the use of force, threats, violence, and the withholding of resources. The construct recognizes that within an intimate relationship, coercive acts often rely on emotional leverage and relationship dynamics rather than solely physical violence.

Validity

The SCIRS has demonstrated strong evidence of validity through various empirical studies, supporting its ability to measure the intended construct and relate appropriately to other relevant psychological measures.

Predictive and Criterion Validity: Research has supported key predictions regarding the consequences and correlates of sexual coercion. Specifically, higher SCIRS scores (indicating greater sexual coercion) are negatively correlated with women’s relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, men who score lower on the personality trait of Conscientiousness are more likely to engage in sexual coercion, and men who report being more upset by partners denying sexual access exhibit higher levels of sexually coercive behavior.

Convergent and Discriminative Validity: The SCIRS demonstrates significant positive correlations with related measures, such as the sexual coercion subscale of the Violence Assessment Index, the Controlling Behavior Index, the Mate Retention Inventory, and the Partner-Directed Insults Scale. Crucially, while these correlations are positive, the SCIRS scores do not share more than 20% of the response variance with these other measures. This outcome provides strong evidence that the SCIRS measures behaviors that are related to general violence and control, but are also distinct from nonsexual violence, thereby establishing both convergent and discriminative validity.

Reliability

The SCIRS has consistently demonstrated acceptable internal reliability across studies involving mixed, male, and female samples. Reliability is typically reported using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients.

In the initial development and validation study by Shackelford and Goetz (2004), the total scale achieved an excellent alpha reliability of .96. The three primary components identified through component analysis also showed high internal consistency: Resource Manipulation/Violence (.92), Commitment Manipulation (.91), and Defection Threat (.95).

Factor Analysis

Shackelford and Goetz (2004) conducted a component analysis of the SCIRS items, which yielded three distinct components (or subscales) representing different categories of coercive tactics used by men in intimate relationships:

• Resource Manipulation/Violence: This component includes coercive behaviors where men use tangible resources or physical force. This involves acts such as withholding or providing gifts and benefits, as well as threatening or using physical force and violence to gain sexual access.
• Commitment Manipulation: This component captures coercive acts where men exploit the relationship status itself. They manipulate their partners by asserting that their commitment or the nature of their relationship obligates the partner to provide sexual access.
• Defection Threat: This component involves coercive acts centered on threats of infidelity or abandonment. Men threaten to pursue sexual relationships or long-term relationships with other women if their current partner denies them sexual access.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychometric scale (Survey)

Format: 34 items rated on a 6-point Likert-type frequency scale. The scale uses a one-month recall period.

Language Available: English (North American context)

Population Group: Adults (primarily heterosexual young adults)

Age Group: Mean age 24 years (young adults)

Population Details: Data collection has primarily focused on heterosexual young adults residing in North America.

Test Methodology: The SCIRS is typically administered as a self-administered survey, though it can be adapted for interview use. Standardized instructions ensure straightforward completion. The typical administration time is approximately 10 minutes. The scoring involves summing the response values (0 to 5) for all items, resulting in a total scale score ranging from 0 to 170. The response values are defined as:

• 0 = Act did not occur
• 1 = Act occurred 1 time
• 2 = Act occurred 2 times
• 3 = Act occurred 3 to 5 times
• 4 = Act occurred 6 to 10 times
• 5 = Act occurred 11 or more times

Keywords

Sexual Coercion, Relationship Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence, Psychological Manipulation, Resource Manipulation, Commitment Threats, Evolutionary Psychology, Psychometrics

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Aaron T. Goetz)

Correspondence Address: Aaron T. Goetz, Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, P. O. Box 6846, Fullerton, CA 92834.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: Initial development and validation published in 2004 (Shackelford & Goetz, 2004).

Permissions/Fee: The scale is utilized primarily for academic research. Users should contact the corresponding author (Aaron T. Goetz) for specific usage permissions.

Reference’s

• Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., & McKibbin, W. F. (2008). The Mate Retention Inventory—Short Form (MRI-SF). Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 322–334.
• Dobash, R. E., Dobash, R. P., Cavanagh, K., & Lewis, R. (1995). Evaluating criminal justice programmes for violent men. In R. E. Dobash, R. P. Dobash, & L. Noaks (Eds.), Gender and crime (pp. 358–389). Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
• Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2006). Sexual coercion and forced in-pair copulation as sperm competition tactics in humans. Human Nature, 17, 265–282.
• Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2009). Sexual coercion in intimate relationships: A comparative analysis of the effects of women’s infidelity and men’s dominance and control. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 226–234.
• Goetz, A. T., Shackelford, T. K., Schipper, L. D., & Stewart-Williams, S. (2006). Adding insult to injury: Development and initial validation of the Partner-Directed Insults Scale. Violence and Victims, 21, 691–706.
• Shackelford, T. K., & Goetz, A. T. (2004). Men’s sexual coercion in intimate relationships: Development and initial validation of the Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale. Violence and Victims, 19, 541–556.
• Smith, P. H., Earp, J., & DeVellis, R. (1995). Measuring battering: Development of the Women’s Experience with Battering (WEB) Scale. Women’s Health, 1, 273–288.
• Starratt, V. G., Goetz, A. T., Shackelford, T. K., McKibbin, W. F., & Stewart-Williams, S. (2008). Men’s partner-directed insults and sexual coercion in intimate relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 315–323.
• Starratt, V. G., Popp, D., & Shackelford, T. K. (2008). Not all men are sexually coercive: A preliminary investigation of the moderating effect of mate desirability on the relationship between female infidelity and male sexual coercion. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 10–14.
• Starratt, V. G., Shackelford, T. K., Goetz, A. T., & McKibbin, W. F. (2009). Only if he thinks she’s cheating: Perceived risk of female infidelity moderates the relationship between objective risk of female infidelity and sexual coercion. Manuscript under editorial review.

Items of the Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale

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

Instructions: Sexuality is an important part of romantic relationships and can sometimes be a source of conflict. Your honest responses to the following questions will contribute profoundly to what is known about sexuality in romantic relationships and may help couples improve the sexual aspects of their relationships. We appreciate that some of the questions may be uncomfortable for you to answer, but keep in mind that your responses will remain confidential.

Below is a list of acts that can occur in a romantic relationship. Please use the following scale to indicate HOW OFTEN in the past ONE month these acts have occurred in your current romantic relationship. Write the number that best represents your response in the blank space to the left of each act.

1. = Act did NOT occur in the past month
2. = Act occurred 1 time in the past month
3. = Act occurred 2 times in the past month
4. = Act occurred 3 to 5 times in the past month
5. = Act occurred 6 to 10 times in the past month
6. = Act occurred 11 OR MORE times in the past month

       1. My partner hinted that he would withhold benefits that I depend on if I did not have sex with him.

       2. My partner threatened to withhold benefits that I depend on if I did not have sex with him.

       3. My partner withheld benefits that I depend on to get me to have sex with him.

       4. My partner hinted that he would give me gifts or other benefits if I had sex with him.

       5. My partner gave me gifts or other benefits so that I would feel obligated to have sex with him.

       6. My partner reminded me of gifts or other benefits he gave me so that I would feel obligated to have sex with him.

        7. My partner persisted in asking me to have sex with him, even though he knew that I did not want to.

       8. My partner pressured me to have sex with him against my will.

       9. My partner initiated sex with me when I was unaware (for example, I was asleep, drunk, or on medication) and continued against my will.

       10. My partner threatened to physically force me to have sex with him.

       11. My partner physically forced me to have sex with him.

       12. My partner made me feel obligated to have sex with him.

       13. My partner hinted that he would have sex with another woman if I did not have sex with him.

       14. My partner threatened to have sex with another woman if I did not have sex with him.

       15. My partner told me that other couples have sex more than we do, to make me feel like I should have sex with him.

       16. My partner hinted that he might pursue a long-term relationship with another woman if I did not have sex with him.

       17. My partner threatened to pursue a long-term relationship with another woman if I did not have sex with him.

       18. My partner hinted that if I were truly committed to him I would have sex with him.

       19. My partner told me that if I were truly committed to him I would have sex with him.

       20. My partner hinted that if I loved him I would have sex with him.

      21. My partner told me that if I loved him I would have sex with him.‌

       22. My partner threatened violence against me if I did not have sex with him.

       23. My partner threatened violence against someone or something I care about if I did not have sex with him.

       24. My partner hinted that other women were interested in a relationship with him, so that I would have sex with him.

       25. My partner told me that other women were interested in a relationship with him, so that I would have sex with him.

       26. My partner hinted that other women were interested in having sex with him, so that I would have sex with him.

       27. My partner told me that other women were interested in having sex with him, so that I would have sex with him.

       28. My partner hinted that other women were willing to have sex with him, so that I would have sex with him.

       29. My partner told me that other women were willing to have sex with him, so that I would have sex with him.

       30. My partner hinted that it was my obligation or duty to have sex with him.

       31. My partner told me that it was my obligation or duty to have sex with him.

       32. My partner hinted that I was cheating on him, in an effort to get me to have sex with him.

       33. My partner accused me of cheating on him, in an effort to get me to have sex with him.

       34. My partner and I had sex, even though I did not want to.