A comparison of patient and partner responses to a brief sexual function questionnaire

Patient self-administered questionnaires have recently been developed to assess sexual function in men with erectile dysfunction. However, it may also be important to assess satisfaction with and any improvements in sexual function from the perspective of the female partner. We report the results of a brief 3-item questionnaire developed for the female partner and its association with an 11-item questionnaire developed for men with erectile dysfunction.

Men and their female partners each self-administered a brief sexual function questionnaire several times during a clinical trial of an experimental treatment for erectile dysfunction. Items addressed the frequency and firmness of erection, and satisfaction with sex life on a 5-point Likert scale with responses ranging from 0 to 4. We compared mean values of the 3 items common to each questionnaire by respondent, and also analyzed item and scale correlations using weighted kappa statistics and/or the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Data from 389 pairs were available. Generally patient results were fairly consistent with those of partners. Men reported slightly more frequent erection (1.6 versus 1.5), identical firmness of erection (1.2) and less satisfaction (1.2 versus 1.4) than partners. Weighted kappas of the 3 items ranged from 0.47 to 0.61, representing good agreement. The Pearson correlations were slightly higher. Internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha of the 3-item scale was 0.69 (0.77 for patient and 0.81 for partner).

These data support the use of patient and partner assessments of sexual function in clinical trials of erectile dysfunction.