Validation of the McCoy Female Sexuality Questionnaire in an Italian sample

• Published in: Archives of sexual behavior Vol. 34; no. 6; pp. 641 - 647
• Main Authors: Rellini, Alessandra H, Nappi, Rossella E, Vaccaro, Patrizia, Ferdeghini, Francesca, Abbiati, Ileana, Meston, Cindy M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Springer Nature B.V 01-12-2005
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Coitus; Female; Humans; Italy; Libido; Menopause; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of Results; Sexual Behavior - psychology; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - diagnosis; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - psychology; Sexuality; Surveys and Questionnaires; Validity; Women; Women's Health; Italy
• ISSN: 0004-0002; 1573-2800
• DOI: 10.1007/s10508-005-7915-8

This article presents the result of a study that translated into Italian and validated the McCoy Female Sexuality Questionnaire (MFSQ) on an Italian sample. The questionnaire was first administered to a sample of 240 Italian women (age range, 18-65 years) recruited from a gynecology clinic. A principal component analysis identified 2 factors: sexuality (9 items) and partnership (5 items). Both factors showed an adequate inter-item reliability (Cronbach's alpha of .88 and .75, respectively). The validity of the Italian MFSQ was then tested by administering the questionnaire to a sample of 16 women with sexual dysfunction and 46 control women. Sexual dysfunction diagnoses were assessed through a semi-standardized interview based on the DSM-IV-TR diagnoses for Female Sexual Arousal Disorder, Female Orgasmic Disorder, Dyspareunia, and Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder. A discriminant validity test showed significant differences between women with and without female sexual dysfunction. These results indicate that the translated version of the MFSQ is a reliable and valid measure of sexual dysfunction among Italian women. The results also indicated a difference in factor structure between the Italian and the original version of the MFSQ, which warrants further investigation.