Sexual Self-Schema Scale – Women’s Version

Abstract

The Sexual Self-Schema Scale (SSS)—Women’s Version, developed by Anna O. Levin and Barbara L. Andersen, is a cognitive measure of a woman’s sexually relevant self-view. Based on the theoretical framework that sexual self-schema is a cognitive, individual difference variable derived from past experience, the scale assesses how women interpret, organize, and guide their sexual actions and experiences. The SSS is a 50-item self-report instrument, utilizing 26 scored items derived from trait adjectives designed to semantically represent a “sexual” woman. The scale yields a total score and three primary factor scores reflecting positive (Passionate/Romantic, Directness/Openness) and negative (Embarrassment or Conservatism) self-schematic dimensions.

The scale employs a rigorous psychometric studies approach, including assessments of internal consistency and various forms of validity. It is designed with filler items to obscure the measurement of a sexuality construct from the respondents. High total scores indicate a positively schematic sexual self-view, while low scores suggest a negatively schematic view.

Keywords

Sexual self-schema, SSS, women, sexual behavior, self-view, psychological assessment, cognitive representation, sexual distress, passion, embarrassment

Authors

Anna O. Levin, Barbara L. Andersen

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Sexual Self-Schema Scale (SSS) is to provide a quantitative, cognitive measure of a woman’s sexual self-view. The scale aims to operationalize the theoretical construct of sexual self-schema, allowing researchers and clinicians to assess individual differences in how women perceive and organize their sexual identity and experiences. It is used to predict a wide range of sexual and romantic behaviors, affects, and responses.

The instrument helps categorize individuals based on their sexual self-descriptions. For instance, women exhibiting a positive sexual self-schema are characterized by high levels of romantic emotion and behavioral openness, whereas those with a negative schema report low engagement and high levels of embarrassment or conservatism in sexual contexts.

Construct

The SSS-W measures the sexual self-schema, which is conceptualized as a sexually relevant, cognitive, individual difference variable, as defined by Andersen and Cyranowski (1994). Schemas, in this context, are cognitive representations of the self, fundamentally shaped by past experiences and influential in current experiences.

This sexual self-view serves several critical psychological functions. It functions to interpret and organize sexually relevant actions and experiences, establishes standards for sexual behaviors, and guides decisions and inferences related to future sexual circumstances. The SSS-W, therefore, captures the stable cognitive structure underlying sexual identity and responsiveness.

Validity

Extensive data supports the convergent validity of the SSS-W. Studies by Andersen, Cyranowski, and colleagues demonstrated that the total SSS score reliably predicts a broad spectrum of sexual cognitions, behaviors, and physiological responses. For example, studies with college women showed significant correlations between total scores and measures of sexual affects, arousal, behaviors, and romantic relationships (r’s = .14 to .36).

Furthermore, the SSS exhibits strong clinical relevance, particularly in predicting sexual dysfunction and sexual distress. Research has shown that schema scores account for significant variance in sexual outcomes beyond the contribution of other individual difference factors, such as self-esteem or extroversion. For instance, women diagnosed with sexual pain disorders reported less positive SSS scores compared to women without pain. The scale has also been useful in predicting sexual aversion and sexual self-efficacy in various samples, including older women and female cancer patients/survivors.

Reliability

The SSS-W demonstrates acceptable to good internal consistency and test-retest reliability across diverse samples of women. For the original college women sample (N = 387), the authors reported the following Cronbach’s alpha values:

• Total scale: .82
• Scale 1 (Passionate/Romantic): .81
• Scale 2 (Directness/Openness): .77
• Scale 3 (Embarrassment or Conservatism): .66

Subsequent psychometric studies involving different populations, including cancer patients, older women, and women with sexual dysfunctions, consistently found total scale internal-consistency estimates ranging from .61 to .86. Retest reliabilities measured in college samples were high: .89 at a 2-week interval (N = 20) and .88 at a 9-week interval (N = 172).

Factor Analysis

Multiple factor analytic studies confirm a three-factor structure underlying the 26 scored items of the SSS-W:

• Factor 1: Passionate/Romantic (Positive Valence): Items reflecting emotional warmth, romance, and arousal.
• Factor 2: Directness/Openness (Positive Valence): Items reflecting behavioral engagement, frankness, and lack of inhibition.
• Factor 3: Embarrassment or Conservatism (Negative Valence): Items reflecting cautiousness, timidity, and self-consciousness in sexual contexts.

The scale recommends the use of a total score, calculated as: (Scale 1 + Scale 2) − Scale 3. Total scores range from −42 to 114, with higher scores indicating a positively schematic view. Alternatively, a bivariate scoring procedure using median-split cutoffs on the combined positive dimension (Factors 1 and 2) and the negative dimension (Factor 3) can delineate four schematic representations: positive, negative, aschematic, and co-schematic.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale/Cognitive measure

Format: 50 items (26 scored, 24 filler items). Respondents use a 7-point Likert-type scale.

Language Available: English (Original version)

Population Group: Women

Age Group: College-aged women and older women

Population Details: Initial validation sample included N = 387 college-aged women. Subsequent studies have included specific clinical populations (e.g., cancer patients, women with sexual dysfunction).

Test Methodology: Subjects rate trait adjectives on a scale ranging from 0 = Not at all Descriptive of Me to 6 = Very Much Descriptive of Me. Completion time is typically 5–10 minutes.

Keywords

Sexual self-schema, SSS, self-concept, sexual functioning, affect, romantic relationships, trait adjectives, psychometrics, factor structure

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Barbara L. Andersen)

Correspondence Address: Barbara L. Andersen, Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1222

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1994 (Primary publication)

Permissions and Fee: Information regarding permissions and fees is not provided in the source material. Researchers should contact the corresponding author, Barbara L. Andersen, for authorization and current usage guidelines.

Reference’s

• Andersen, B. L., & Cyranowski, J. M. (1994). Women’s sexual self-schema. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1079–1100.

• Andersen, B. L., Woods, X. A., & Copeland, L. J. (1997). Sexual self-schema and sexual morbidity among gynecologic cancer survivors. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 221–229.

• Cyranowski, J. M., & Andersen, B. L. (1998). Schemas, sexuality, and romantic attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1364–1379.

• Cyranowski, J. M., & Andersen, B. L. (2000). Evidence of self-schematic cognitive processing in women with differing sexual self-views. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, 519–543.

• Donaghue, N. (2009). Body satisfaction, sexual self-schemas and subjective well-being in women. Body Image, 6, 37–42.

• Donovan, K. A., Taliaferro, L. A., Alvarez, E. M., Jacobsen, P. B., Roetzheim, R. G., & Wenham, R. M. (2007). Sexual health in women treated for cervical cancer: Characteristics and correlates. Gynecologic Oncology, 104, 428–434.

• Kuffel, S. W., & Heiman, J. R. (2006). Effects of depressive symptoms and experimentally adopted schemas on sexual arousal and affect in sexually healthy women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 163–177.

• Meston, C. A., Rellini, A. H., & Heiman, R. (2006). Women’s history of sexual abuse, their sexuality, and sexual self-schemas. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 229–236.

• Reissing, E. D., Binik, Y. M., Khalife, S., Cohen, D., & Amsel, R. (2003). Etiological correlates of vaginismus: Sexual and physical abuse, sexual knowledge, sexual self-schema, and relationship adjustment. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 29, 47–59.

• Reissing, E. D., Laliberté, G. M., & Davis, H. J. (2005). Young women’s sexual adjustment: The role of sexual self-schema, sexual self-efficacy, sexual aversion and body attitudes. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 14(3/4), 77.

• Yurek, D., Farrar, W., & Andersen, B. L. (2000). Breast cancer surgery: Comparing surgical groups and determining individual differences in postoperative sexuality and body change stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 697–709.

Items of the Sexual Self-Schema Scale—Women’s Version

Describe Yourself

Directions: Below is a listing of 50 trait adjectives. For each word, consider whether or not the term describes you. Each adjective is to be rated on a 7-point scale, ranging from 0 = not at all descriptive of me to 6 = very much descriptive of me. For each item, fill in the appropriate circle on your computer answer sheet. Please be thoughtful and honest.

Question: To what extent does the term describe me?

Rating Scale:

Not at all Very Much

Descriptive 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Descriptive of Me of Me

1. generous (26) disagreeable

2. uninhibited (27) serious

3. cautious (28) prudent

4. helpful (29) humorous

5. loving (30) sensible

6. open-minded (31) embarrassed

7. shallow (32) outspoken

8. timid (33) level-headed

9. frank (34) responsible

10. clean-cut (35) romantic

11. stimulating (36) polite

12. unpleasant (37) sympathetic

13. experienced (38) conservative

14. short-tempered (39) passionate

15. irresponsible (40) wise

16. direct (41) inexperienced

17. logical (42) stingy

18. broad-minded (43) superficial

19. kind (44) warm

20. arousable (45) unromantic

21. practical (46) good-natured

22. self-conscious (47) rude

23. dull (48) revealing

24. straightforward (49) bossy

25. causal (50) feeling