IEMSSQ: An instrument to assess sexual satisfaction in the Hispanic LGBT population

What is it about?

One of the most important theoretical models of sexual satisfaction in the field of romantic relationships is the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction, which explains it from four components: (1) balance between sexual rewards and costs, (2 ) comparative level or balance between real sexual rewards/costs and expected sexual rewards/costs, (3) level of perceived equality of sexual rewards and costs between the members of the couple, and (4) relationship satisfaction. To evaluate these components and thus assess the sexual satisfaction of people with a romantic relationship, the Interpersonal Model of Sexual Satisfaction Exchange Questionnaire (IEMSSQ) was developed. This assessment instrument had been validated years ago in Spain in the heterosexual population, but it lacked adequate validation in the Hispanic LGBT population. The version of the IEMSSQ for people with a same-sex couple has been published. The validation was carried out on a large sample made up of 1,820 Spanish-speaking adults between 18 and 74 years of age (55.49% men and 44.51% women), of whom 50% were gay and 50% were heterosexual. All of them had a romantic relationship of at least three months' duration. This study confirms that the IEMSSQ is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing sexual satisfaction in gays and lesbians, and it is also invariant by sexual orientation, that is, it allows the sexual satisfaction of gay and heterosexual people to be compared without measurement error. The results obtained showed that relationship satisfaction is the most important component of sexual satisfaction in people with a same-sex partner, just as it happens in heterosexual couples. When examining sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction in men and women with a partner of the same and different sex, through the IEMSSQ, the results showed that it is lesbians who obtain the highest levels of both sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction.

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Photo by Isi Parente on Unsplash

Photo by Isi Parente on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Researchers and sexual health professionals have a brief instrument that allows them to reliably and validly assess sexual satisfaction in the Hispanic LGBT population.

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