The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): linguistic validation of the Italian version.
BACKGROUND
Although several new measurements for female sexual dysfunction (FSD) have recently been developed, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) remains the gold standard for screening and one of the most widely used questionnaires. The Italian translation of the FSFI has been used in several studies conducted in Italy, but a linguistic validation of the Italian version does not exist.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to perform a linguistic validation of the Italian version of the FSFI.


METHODS
A multicenter cross-sectional study conducted in 14 urological and gynecological clinics, uniformly distributed over Italian territory. We performed all steps necessary to determine the reliability and the test-retest reliability of the Italian version of the FSFI. The study population was a convenience sample of 409 Italian women.


METHODS
The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach's alpha, which was considered weak, moderate, or high if its value was found less than 0.6, between 0.6 and 0.8, or equal to or greater than 0.8, respectively. The test-retest reliability was assessed for all women in the sample by calculating Pearson's concordance correlation coefficient for each domain and for the total score, both at baseline and after 15 days (r range between -1.00 to +1.00, where +1.00 indicates the strongest positive association).


RESULTS
Cronbach's alpha coefficients for total and domain score were sufficiently high, ranging from 0.92 to 0.97 for the total sample. The test-retest procedure revealed that the concordance correlation coefficient was very high both for FSFI-I total score (Pearson's P = 0.93) and for each domain (Pearson's P always >0.92).


CONCLUSIONS
For the first time in the literature, our study has produced a validated and reliable Italian version of the FSFI questionnaire. Consequently, the Italian FSFI can be used as a reliable tool for preliminary screening for female sexual dysfunction for Italian women.
Department of Urology, ASL CN1, Savigliano (CN), Italy.
Maria Teresa
MT
Filocamo
Maurizio
M
Serati
Vincenzo
V
Li Marzi
Elisabetta
E
Costantini
Martina
M
Milanesi
Amelia
A
Pietropaolo
Patrizio
P
Polledro
Barbara
B
Gentile
Serena
S
Maruccia
Samanta
S
Fornia
Irene
I
Lauri
Rosanna
R
Alei
Paola
P
Arcangeli
Maria Chiara
MC
Sighinolfi
Francesca
F
Manassero
Elena
E
Andretta
Anna
A
Palazzetti
Elena
E
Bertelli
Giulio
G
Del Popolo
Donata
D
Villari
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014177:Translations; D055815:Young Adult
FSFI; Italian Version; Validation