Psychometric properties of the Sexual Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ) in the Iranian population with spinal cord injury.
METHODS
This is a cross-sectional study.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Sexual Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ) for Iranian people with spinal cord injury.


METHODS
This study was conducted in the brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.


METHODS
We assessed the psychometric properties of the SAQ, with 200 participants (men=146, women=54) completing the scale. An evaluation of its test-retest reliability was performed over a 2-weeks period, on a subsample of 30 patients recruited from the overall group. Cronbach's α-coefficient was computed for assessment of internal consistency reliability. In addition, content and face validity were examined by an expert committee. Construct validity was assessed by examining convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, exploratory factor analysis was used to extract the factor structure of the questionnaire.


RESULTS
The Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient were 0.77 and 0.72 retrospectively. With regard to construct validity, there was a significant (P=0.009) negative correlation (r=-0.28) between the SAQ score and age. Those with lower levels of educations scored significantly lower on the SAQ (P=0.04). The exploratory factor analysis indicated a four-factor structure for the questionnaire, accounting for 68.9% of the observed variance. The expert committee approved the face and content validity of the developed measure.


CONCLUSIONS
The SAQ is a valid measure for assessing sexual adjustment in people with spinal cord injury. The evaluation of sexual well-being may be useful in clinical trials and practical settings.
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.|Iranian National Center of Addiction Studies (INCAS); Institution of Risk Behavior Reduction, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
E
E
Merghati-Khoei
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
R
R
Maasoumi
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
F
F
Rahdari
Iranian National Center of Addiction Studies (INCAS); Institution of Risk Behavior Reduction, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
A
A
Bayat
Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
S
S
Hajmirzaei
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
S
S
Lotfi
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
M
M
Hajiaghababaei
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
S H
SH
Emami-Razavi
Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, USA.
J E
JE
Korte
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
F
F
Atoof
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult