title: The sex effects scale: pilot validation in a healthy population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sexual dysfunction is frequently associated with depression and is often exacerbated by antidepressant treatment. The true prevalence of antidepressant minduced dysfunction during a major depressive episode is generally underreported, due to reliance on spontaneous self-report data and the reluctance of physicians to use standardized rating scales. The aim of this study is to validate the Sex Effects scale (SexFX) in a healthy population, addressing internal and inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, as well as convergent and divergent validity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The SexFX is a 13-item scale that assesses severity of sexual dysfunction across the domains of desire, arousal, and orgasm based on the frequency of behaviour. Healthy participants (N = 53) had the SexFX and Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ) administered at two timepoints, two weeks apart.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Cronbach's a was 0.91 and 0.93 for the male and female scales, respectively, and inter-rater reliability was very high with ICCs of 0.99 for both the male and female scales. Concurrent validity with the CSFQ was adequate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SexFX demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, providing the results necessary to proceed with further validation trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. sidney.kennedy@uhn.on.ca
authors.forename: Sidney H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Sakina J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rizvi
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fulton
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Lena C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Quilty
authors.forename: Lakshmi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ravindran
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D009864:Ontario; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult