Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale

Abstract

The Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale (SSDS) is a standardized, 19-item instrument designed to quantify the degree of perceived **threat** or difficulty an individual associates with answering personal questions about sexuality. The scale utilizes a Likert-type scale format to assess the respondent’s self-reported ease or difficulty in disclosing sensitive sexual information across various contexts and interpersonal settings. The SSDS is typically self-administered, although interviewer-administered versions are also available. A shorter, 7-item version of the scale is also widely used in large-scale survey research.

Keywords

Sexual Self-Disclosure, SSDS, Psychological Measurement, Sexual Behavior, Response Bias, Threat Assessment, Likert scale, Survey Methodology.

Authors

JOSEPH A. CATANIA (University of California, San Francisco)

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale (SSDS) is to measure individual differences in the willingness to reveal personal sexual information. This measurement is crucial for researchers in the field of human sexuality to identify and control for potential **response bias** and **sample bias** that often arise during data collection.

By assessing how different situational factors—such as the presence of an interviewer, the interviewer’s demographics, or the setting of the survey—influence the perceived threat level, the SSDS helps researchers understand the conditions under which respondents are most likely to provide accurate and complete data, thereby enhancing the quality of sexuality research.

Construct

The core psychological construct measured by the SSDS is the degree of perceived **threat** associated with disclosing personal information related to sexuality, a specialized domain of self-disclosure. The scale operates on the principle that the perceived difficulty of sharing sexual information varies significantly depending on the context and the characteristics of the recipient.

The instrument is structured to capture sensitivity to specific interpersonal and methodological variables, including the anonymity of a questionnaire, the age and gender of an interviewer or physician, and the nature of the relationship with a confidant (e.g., friend, partner, parent). Lower scores on the SSDS indicate a lower level of perceived threat and greater ease in sexual self-disclosure.

Validity

The SSDS has demonstrated robust psychometric properties, including evidence for construct validity. The scale was found to correlate significantly (r(72)= –.51, p <.0001) with Chelune’s (1976) General Self-Disclosure Scale. This negative correlation supports the underlying construct, as individuals who are generally high in self-disclosure (higher scores on Chelune’s scale) reported less threat (lower scores) on the SSDS.

Discriminant validity was established in a study comparing introductory psychology students (M = 60.7, SD = 16.2) with students in a human sexuality course (M = 54.6, SD = 17.1). The sexuality students, hypothesized to be more comfortable with sexual self-disclosure due to self-selection, exhibited significantly lower threat scores (t(172) = 1.66, p < .05). Additionally, threat scores correlated negatively with indicators of sexual openness, such as the number of sexuality books read (r(86) = –.24, p <.03) and total lifetime sexual partners (r(86)= .23, p <.05). Importantly, the administration of the SSDS did not appear to sensitize respondents, as there was no significant difference in the number of partial responders detected when comparing baseline administration conditions.

Reliability

The full 19-item SSDS demonstrates high internal consistency and temporal stability. In the initial validation sample of university students, the internal consistency reliability, measured by Cronbach’s alpha, was exceptionally high at **.93**. Test-retest reliability was also strong, yielding an r value of **.92**.

The shortened, 7-item version of the scale maintained acceptable reliability when administered by phone to a large national probability sample (N=2,018) in the 1995 National Survey Methods study, achieving a Cronbach’s alpha of **.80**. Normative data from this study showed high reliability across demographic subgroups, with alphas ranging from .80 for the national sample with greater than 12 years of education, up to .83 for the national sample with less than 12 years of education.

Factor Analysis

Information regarding the **factor structure** or **factor analysis** of the 19-item Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale (SSDS) was not explicitly provided in the source documentation.

Instrument

Test Type: Likert-type scale (19 items in the full version; 7 items in the short form).

Format: Self-administered questionnaire or interviewer-administered version.

Language Available: English and Spanish.

Population Group: General population (validated across college students and national probability samples).

Age Group: Adults (initial sample mean age 24.6 years).

Population Details: Initial university sample (N=193) consisted of 100% Caucasian heterosexuals. Later administration included a national probability sample (N=2,018) of the contiguous United States via random-digit dialing, providing extensive normative data stratified by gender and education level.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to imagine specific disclosure situations and rate the ease or difficulty of revealing sexual information using a 6-point scale (1 = extremely easy, 6 = extremely difficult). Scoring is achieved by summing item responses; lower total scores indicate less perceived threat associated with sexual disclosure. Completion time is brief, typically 3–5 minutes for all forms.

Keywords

Psychometrics, Reliability, Validity, Survey Methodology, Response Threat, Sexual Health Research, Interview Bias, Disclosure Difficulty.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not provided in the source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not provided in the source material. The primary author is JOSEPH A. CATANIA, affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.

Correspondence Address: Information not provided in the source material. Contact information regarding unpublished data from the 1995 National Survey Methods study is available from the author.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions and Fees: Information regarding scale usage permissions and associated fees is not provided in the source material.

Test Year: The scale was validated in studies published as early as **1986** (Catania, McDermott, & Pollack, 1986). The short form was utilized in the National Survey Methods study completed in **1995**.

Reference’s

Catania, J. A., McDermott, L. J., & Pollack, L. M. (1986). Questionnaire response bias and face-to-face interview sample bias in sexuality research. The Journal of Sex Research, 22, 52–72.

Chelune, G. (1976). Self-disclosure situations survey: A new approach to measuring self-disclosure. Journal Supplement Abstract Service: Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 6, 11–112. (Ms. No. 1367)

Items of the Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale

Instructions: The following describe different situations in which people may or may not wish to discuss sexual matters. Imagine yourself in each of the situations listed below and circle that number which best shows how easy or difficult it would be for you to reveal sexual information in that situation. Use the key below as a guide for making your answer.

1. If you were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire containing personal questions on sexuality, the answers to which you had been told would never be publicly associated with you personally, how easy or difficult would this be in the following situation:

   1. In the privacy of your own home, with no one else present.

   2. During a large (25 or more people) group meeting, where most others are also filling-out the questionnaire.

2. If you were asked personal sexual questions in a private face-to-face situation (for instance, only you and an interviewer), the answers to which you had been told would never be revealed, how much difficulty or ease would you have in doing this in the following situations:

   1. With a young (20–30 years) female interviewer

   2. With a young (20–30 years) male interviewer

   3. With an older (50 years and older) female interviewer

   4. With an older (50 years and older) male interviewer

   5. With a young (25–35 years) female medical doctor

   6. With a young (25–35 years) male medical doctor

   7. With an older (50+ years) female medical doctor

   8. With an older (50+ years) male medical doctor

3. How difficult or easy would it be for you to discuss a personal sexual problem or difficulty in the following situation (assume you are in private circumstances)?

   1. With a close female friend

   2. With a close male friend

   3. With a spouse or sexual partner

   4. With a personal physician

   5. With a specialist in sexual problems

4. How easy or difficult would it be for you to openly discuss your sex life and history in a group of three to five people who are:

   1. Both female and male (mixed company) that you have known only briefly

   2. All members of your own sex that you have known only briefly

5. How easy or difficult would it be for you to discuss a personal sexual problem or difficulty with your parents, or if your parents are deceased how easy or difficult would it have been to discuss such with them? (answer for both parents separately below):

   1. With your mother

   2. With your father

Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale—Short Form

The short form below utilizes response options that follow each item, typically using the 1-6 scale or a modified easy/hard format.

1. Do you think that talking about sex in an AIDS survey is . . . Very easy

   Kind of easy Kind of hard or Very hard

   Declined to answer Don’t know

2. How easy or hard would it be to fill out an anonymous questionnaire that asked questions about your sexual behavior in the privacy

   of your own home with no one else present? Would it be . . .

3. How easy or hard would it be for you to fill out an anonymous questionnaire that asked questions about your sexual behavior in the waiting room of a medical clinic with other patients present, who could not see what you were writing? Would it be . . .

4. How easy or hard would it be for you to answer questions about your sexual behavior if they were asked by a medical doctor in the privacy of his/her own office? Would it be . . .

5. How easy or hard would it be to answer questions about your sexual behavior if they were asked by a marriage counselor in the privacy of his/her office? Would it be . . .

6. How easy would it be for you to discuss a sexual problem (read each) With a good friend? Would it be . . .

7. With a spouse or sexual partner? Would it be . . .