Time for a Measurement Check-Up: Testing the Couple's Satisfaction Index and the Global Measure of Sexual...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Relationship and sexual satisfaction are key outcomes in relationship studies.
• Measures of these constructs often lack rigorous psychometric evaluation.
• Ensuring measurement validity is crucial for reliable research and practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a psychometric evaluation of the Couple's Satisfaction Index (CSI) and the Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction (GMSEX).
• To assess the factorial validity, measurement invariance, and item response theory characteristics of these commonly used scales.
• To provide evidence for the reliability and applicability of these measures in research and clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test factorial validity.
• Measurement invariance testing to ensure group comparability.
• Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis to evaluate item performance.

Main Results:

• CFA indicated satisfactory models for both CSI and GMSEX.
• Measurement invariance testing supported scale comparability across groups.
• IRT analysis supported both scales, though GMSEX showed reduced information at high levels of sexual satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• The CSI and GMSEX demonstrate generally sound psychometric properties for measuring relationship and sexual satisfaction.
• The findings support the continued use of these scales, with a note on GMSEX's performance at the upper end of the satisfaction spectrum.
• This psychometric assessment contributes to the replicability and validity of research on couple satisfaction.