Development of an instrument to study the sexual relationship of partners during pregnancy

The development of an objective self-report instrument designed to identify the domain of sexual behaviours during pregnancy is described. The Pregnancy and Sexuality Questionnaire (PSQ) is concerned with sexual interest and arousal and with specific sexual behaviours of partners in a stable heterosexual relationship. Data were obtained two weeks apart from 15 couples presenting to an antenatal class and from two additional females whose partners did not participate. The validity and reliability of the PSQ are considered with particular emphasis on test-retest reliability. The results in general support the reliability of the instrument. The questionable reliability of some items is attributed to the natural sequence of change in sexual behaviours during pregnancy and to the relatively small sample size used. The PSQ appears to be sufficiently robust to be confidently applied both in sexual behaviour research and as an adjunct to clinical practice.