Reliability and Validity of the Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory–Female (SIDI-F), a Scale Designed to Measure Severity of Female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Abstract

The Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory–Female (SIDI-F) is a 13-item scale developed as a clinician-administered assessment tool to quantify the severity of symptoms in women diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). The present investigation assessed the reliability and validity of the SIDI-F as a measure of HSDD severity. Results show that the SIDI-F exhibits excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha of 0.9. The validity of the SIDI-F as a measure of HSDD severity was confirmed by a number of observations. Women with a clinical diagnosis (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000 American Psychiatric Association. 2000. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders , 4th ed., Washington, D. C.: Author. text rev. [Crossref] [Google Scholar] ]) of HSDD had significantly lower SIDI-F scores than women not meeting diagnostic criteria for any subtype of female sexual dysfunction and women diagnosed with female orgasmic disorder. There was a high correlation between scores on the SIDI-F and scores on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI; Rosen et al., 2000 Rosen, R. C. 2000. Prevalence and risk factors of sexual dysfunction in men and women. Current Psychiatry Reports, 3: 189–195. [CSA] [Google Scholar] ) and an interactive voice response version of the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ; Clayton, McGarvey, & Clavet, 1997 Clayton, A. H. , McGarvey, E. L. and Clavet, G. J. 1997. The Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ): Development, reliability, and validity. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 33: 731–745. [PUBMED] [INFOTRIEVE] [CSA] [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ; Clayton, McGarvey, Clavet, & Piazza, 1997 Clayton, A. H. , McGarvey, E. L. , Clavet, G. J. and Piazza, L. 1997. Comparison of sexual functioning in clinical and nonclinical populations using the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ). Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 33: 747–753. [PUBMED] [INFOTRIEVE] [CSA] [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ), two validated measures that assess general female sexual dysfunction. In contrast, there was a poor correlation between SIDI-F scores and scores on a slightly modified Marital Adjustment Scale ( Locke, Wallace, 1959 Locke, H. J. and Wallace, K. M. 1959. Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale and prediction test: Their reliability and validity. Marriage and Family Living, 2: 251–255. [CSA] [Google Scholar] ; MAS), an assessment of general (nonsexual) relationship satisfaction. Taken together, the results of the present investigation indicate that the SIDI-F is a reliable and valid measure of HSDD severity, independent of relationship issues.