title: Cross-cultural adaptation of the Female Genital Self-Image Scale (FGSIS) in Iranian female college students.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of a translated and culturally adapted Iranian version of the Female Genital Self-Image Scale (FGSIS-I) in a sample of college women. Further, the relationship between women's self-image, body appreciation, sexual functioning, and gynecological exam behavior was explored. A sample of 1,877 female students from five different universities across Qazvin and Tehran completed the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the FGSIS-I, and a gynecological exam behavior questionnaire. Good to excellent internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and convergent and construct validity were found. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) both provided a two-factor structure for the FGSIS-I. The validity of the FGSIS-I in predicting gynecological exam behavior of college women was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The final model accounted for 33% of the variance in gynecological exam behavior (p < 0.01). In conclusion, the FGSIS-I was found to be a highly valid and reliable instrument to assess female genital self-image in Iranian women.
authors.affiliation: a Qazvin Research Center for Social Determinants of Health.
authors.forename: Amir H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Pakpour
authors.forename: Isa Mohammadi
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Zeidi
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziaeiha
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000208:ethnology; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult