• The SAIQ was developed to evaluate the impact of counseling programs and sexual education for persons with SCI and their partners (Brockway et al. 1978).
• The SAIQ consists of 4 scales: I) sexual information; II) sexual behavior acceptability; III) sexual concerns; and IV) non-sexual concerns.

Number of items: 39

Procedure/Administration: The SAIQ is a self-report questionnaire.

How scored: The SAIQ is scored using a 6-point Likert-scale (from ‘totally disagree/extremely concerned’ to ‘totally agree/not concerned’). The subscales are scored independently of one another. Scale I is scored according to the number of items answered correctly and Scales II - IV by summing ratings across items. 

Interpretability: N/a

Acceptability: The questionnaire may require up-dating, as there has been a considerable increase in public awareness and understanding of issues such as erectile dysfunction since its publication in 1980.

Languages: N/a

Usability: The SAIQ is easy to complete and the phrasing is clear; however, the content may be culturally sensitive.

Time to administer: Administration and scoring of the tool takes 10-15 minutes

Time to score: Administration and scoring of the tool takes 10-15 minutes

Training required: If the SAIQ is used as part of a counseling or training program then staff training is required. 

Availability: N/a

Equipment Required: N/a

Summary:

• The SAIQ considers both sexual behavior and sexual/non-sexual concerns, illustrating a client-centered questionnaire.
• Each subscale presents separate information: higher scores for scale I suggest individuals are knowledgeable about physiological aspects of sexual functioning, higher scores on scale II represents acceptance of sexual behaviors, higher scores on scale III indicates little concern about sexual functioning, and higher scores on scale IV suggests considerable concern about non-sexual functioning
• The SAIQ may prove to be a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of sexual counseling and education programs designed for individuals SCI. It may also be useful for identifying individuals who would benefit from such a program.

Psychometric Summary

Note: TR= Test re-test; IC= Internal Consistency; Inter-O= Inter-observer; Intra-O= Intra-observer; SS= Sensitivity/Specificity; N/a= No information.

Red light= A single study involving SCI subjects which has less than adequate findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

Yellow light= A single study involving subjects with SCI which has adequate to excellent findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

Green light= At least 2 studies involving subjects with SCI which have adequate to excellent findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

Please contact the author at brockja@u.washington.edu for more information about this tool.

References

• Brockway JA, Steger JC. Sexual attitude and information questionnaire: Reliability and validity in a spinal cord injured population. Sex Disabil 1981;4:49-60.
• Brockway JA, Steger JC, Berni R, Ost V, Williamson-Kirkland TE, Peck CL. Effectiveness of a sex education and counseling program for spinal cord injured patients. Sex Disabil 1978;1:127-136.