Development and Validation of the Response to Sexual Difficulties Scale

Leading models of sexual dysfunction, such as those proposed by Masters and Johnson (1970), Barlow (1986), and Janssen, Everaerd, Spiering, and Janssen (2000), emphasize the role of anxiety and self-monitoring in the development and persistence of sexual difficulties. These models
have considerable explanatory power, but focus on the intrapersonal factors that yield anxiety and self-monitoring. Accounting
for the interpersonal context in which sexual activity occurs is also likely to be important. For example, anxiety and self-monitoring
may arise from negative, yet accurate, predictions about how one’s partner will respond to one’s own sexual functioning difficulties.
The current studies describe the development and validation of the Response to Sexual Difficulties Scale (RSDS), which was
designed to assess how one expects one’s partner to respond to one’s own sexual difficulties (RSDS-Own Difficulties) and how
one expects oneself to respond to one’s partner’s sexual difficulties (RSDS-Partner Difficulties). Study 1 established the
initial reliability and construct validity of the RSDS-Own Difficulties in a sample of adults in committed relationships (N = 59). Study 2 further examined the construct and discriminant validity of the RSDS Own Difficulties and Partner Difficulties
in a sample of heterosexual couples (N = 87). Results indicated that both measures had strong internal consistency and were not redundant with measures of mood
or personality. Scores on the RSDS-Own Difficulties and Partner Difficulties were strongly associated, indicating that reports
of one’s own response to one’s partner’s difficulty matched the partner’s assessment of the reaction. RSDS scores predicted
sexual functioning, relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and sexual communication. The RSDS may, then, provide
a useful means of assessing the role of interpersonal factors in the development and persistence of sexual difficulties.