Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations: Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9)

Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team; Léna Nagy; Mónika Koós; Dr Shane W Kraus; Zsolt Demetrovics; Marc N Potenza; Rafael Ballester-Arnal; Dominik Batthyány; Sophie Bergeron; Joël Billieux; Peer Briken; Julius Burkauskas; Georgina Cárdenas-López; Joana Carvalho; Jesús Castro-Calvo; Lijun Chen; Ji-Kang Chen; Giacomo Ciocca; Ornella Corazza; Rita Csako; David P Fernandez; Hironobu Fujiwara; Elaine F Fernandez; Johannes Fuss; Roman Gabrhelík; Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan; Biljana Gjoneska; Mateusz Gola; Joshua B Grubbs; Hashim T Hashim; Md Saiful Islam; Mustafa Ismail; Martha C Jiménez-Martínez; Tanja Jurin; Ondrej Kalina; Verena Klein; András Költő; Sang-Kyu Lee; Karol Lewczuk; Chung-Ying Lin; Christine Lochner; Silvia López-Alvarado; Kateřina Lukavská; Percy Mayta-Tristán; Dan J Miller; Oľga Orosová; Gábor Orosz; Fernando P Ponce; Gonzalo R Quintana; Gabriel C Quintero Garzola; Jano Ramos-Diaz

doi:10.1177/10731911241312757

Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations: Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9)

Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team
, Léna Nagy
, Mónika Koós
, Dr Shane W Kraus
, Zsolt Demetrovics
, Marc N Potenza
, Rafael Ballester-Arnal
, Dominik Batthyány
, Sophie Bergeron
, Joël Billieux
, Peer Briken
, Julius Burkauskas
, Georgina Cárdenas-López
, Joana Carvalho
, Jesús Castro-Calvo
, Lijun Chen
, Ji-Kang Chen
, Giacomo Ciocca
, Ornella Corazza
, Rita Csako

David P Fernandez, Hironobu Fujiwara, Elaine F Fernandez, Johannes Fuss, Roman Gabrhelík, Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan, Biljana Gjoneska, Mateusz Gola, Joshua B Grubbs, Hashim T Hashim, Md Saiful Islam, Mustafa Ismail, Martha C Jiménez-Martínez, Tanja Jurin, Ondrej Kalina, Verena Klein, András Költő, Sang-Kyu Lee, Karol Lewczuk, Chung-Ying Lin, Christine Lochner, Silvia López-Alvarado, Kateřina Lukavská, Percy Mayta-Tristán, Dan J Miller, Oľga Orosová, Gábor Orosz, Fernando P Ponce, Gonzalo R Quintana, Gabriel C Quintero Garzola, Jano Ramos-Diaz

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sexual assertiveness (SA) is an important concept in understanding sexual well-being and decision-making. However, psychometric evaluation of existing measures of SA in diverse populations is largely lacking, hindering cross-cultural and comparative studies. This study validated the short version of the Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9) and examined its measurement invariance across several languages, countries, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses among 65,448 sexually-active adults ( M age = 32.98 years, SD = 12.08, 58% women, 2.74% gender-diverse individuals) taking part in the International Sex Survey. The scale demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Measurement invariance tests indicated that the SAQ-9 is suitable for comparing individuals from different cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses, and significant group differences were also noted (e.g., gender-diverse individuals reported the highest levels of SA). Findings suggest that the SAQ-9 is a reliable and valid measure of SA and appropriate for use in diverse populations, with specific populations exhibiting varying levels of SA.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-21
Number of pages	21
Journal	Assessment
Early online date	18 Mar 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911241312757
Publication status	Published - 31 Mar 2026

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Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team, Nagy, L., Koós, M., Kraus, D. S. W., Demetrovics, Z., Potenza, M. N., Ballester-Arnal, R., Batthyány, D., Bergeron, S., Billieux, J., Briken, P., Burkauskas, J., Cárdenas-López, G., Carvalho, J., Castro-Calvo, J., Chen, L., Chen, J.-K., Ciocca, G., Corazza, O., ... Ramos-Diaz, J. (2026). Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations: Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9). Assessment, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911241312757

@article{f2c8fb58ac8643eaad95080c14e2719b,

title = "Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations: Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9)",

abstract = "Sexual assertiveness (SA) is an important concept in understanding sexual well-being and decision-making. However, psychometric evaluation of existing measures of SA in diverse populations is largely lacking, hindering cross-cultural and comparative studies. This study validated the short version of the Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9) and examined its measurement invariance across several languages, countries, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses among 65,448 sexually-active adults ( M age = 32.98 years, SD = 12.08, 58\% women, 2.74\% gender-diverse individuals) taking part in the International Sex Survey. The scale demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Measurement invariance tests indicated that the SAQ-9 is suitable for comparing individuals from different cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses, and significant group differences were also noted (e.g., gender-diverse individuals reported the highest levels of SA). Findings suggest that the SAQ-9 is a reliable and valid measure of SA and appropriate for use in diverse populations, with specific populations exhibiting varying levels of SA. ",

author = "\{Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team\} and L{\'e}na Nagy and M{\'o}nika Ko{\'o}s and Kraus, \{Dr Shane W\} and Zsolt Demetrovics and Potenza, \{Marc N\} and Rafael Ballester-Arnal and Dominik Batthy{\'a}ny and Sophie Bergeron and Jo{\"e}l Billieux and Peer Briken and Julius Burkauskas and Georgina C{\'a}rdenas-L{\'o}pez and Joana Carvalho and Jes{\'u}s Castro-Calvo and Lijun Chen and Ji-Kang Chen and Giacomo Ciocca and Ornella Corazza and Rita Csako and Fernandez, \{David P\} and Hironobu Fujiwara and Fernandez, \{Elaine F\} and Johannes Fuss and Roman Gabrhel{\'i}k and Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan and Biljana Gjoneska and Mateusz Gola and Grubbs, \{Joshua B\} and Hashim, \{Hashim T\} and Islam, \{Md Saiful\} and Mustafa Ismail and Jim{\'e}nez-Mart{\'i}nez, \{Martha C\} and Tanja Jurin and Ondrej Kalina and Verena Klein and Andr{\'a}s K{\"o}lt{\H o} and Sang-Kyu Lee and Karol Lewczuk and Chung-Ying Lin and Christine Lochner and Silvia L{\'o}pez-Alvarado and Kate{\v r}ina Lukavsk{\'a} and Percy Mayta-Trist{\'a}n and Miller, \{Dan J\} and O{\v I}ga Orosov{\'a} and G{\'a}bor Orosz and Ponce, \{Fernando P\} and Quintana, \{Gonzalo R\} and \{Quintero Garzola\}, \{Gabriel C\} and Jano Ramos-Diaz",

note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

year = "2026",

month = mar,

day = "31",

doi = "10.1177/10731911241312757",

language = "English",

pages = "1--21",

journal = "Assessment",

issn = "1073-1911",

publisher = "SAGE Publications",

}

Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team, Nagy, L, Koós, M, Kraus, DSW, Demetrovics, Z, Potenza, MN, Ballester-Arnal, R, Batthyány, D, Bergeron, S, Billieux, J, Briken, P, Burkauskas, J, Cárdenas-López, G, Carvalho, J, Castro-Calvo, J, Chen, L, Chen, J-K, Ciocca, G, Corazza, O, Csako, R, Fernandez, DP, Fujiwara, H, Fernandez, EF, Fuss, J, Gabrhelík, R, Gewirtz-Meydan, A, Gjoneska, B, Gola, M, Grubbs, JB, Hashim, HT, Islam, MS, Ismail, M, Jiménez-Martínez, MC, Jurin, T, Kalina, O, Klein, V, Költő, A, Lee, S-K, Lewczuk, K, Lin, C-Y, Lochner, C, López-Alvarado, S, Lukavská, K, Mayta-Tristán, P, Miller, DJ, Orosová, O, Orosz, G, Ponce, FP, Quintana, GR, Quintero Garzola, GC & Ramos-Diaz, J 2026, 'Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations: Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9)', Assessment, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911241312757

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations

T2 - Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9)

AU - Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team

AU - Nagy, Léna

AU - Koós, Mónika

AU - Kraus, Dr Shane W

AU - Demetrovics, Zsolt

AU - Potenza, Marc N

AU - Ballester-Arnal, Rafael

AU - Batthyány, Dominik

AU - Bergeron, Sophie

AU - Billieux, Joël

AU - Briken, Peer

AU - Burkauskas, Julius

AU - Cárdenas-López, Georgina

AU - Carvalho, Joana

AU - Castro-Calvo, Jesús

AU - Chen, Lijun

AU - Chen, Ji-Kang

AU - Ciocca, Giacomo

AU - Corazza, Ornella

AU - Csako, Rita

AU - Fernandez, David P

AU - Fujiwara, Hironobu

AU - Fernandez, Elaine F

AU - Fuss, Johannes

AU - Gabrhelík, Roman

AU - Gewirtz-Meydan, Ateret

AU - Gjoneska, Biljana

AU - Gola, Mateusz

AU - Grubbs, Joshua B

AU - Hashim, Hashim T

AU - Islam, Md Saiful

AU - Ismail, Mustafa

AU - Jiménez-Martínez, Martha C

AU - Jurin, Tanja

AU - Kalina, Ondrej

AU - Klein, Verena

AU - Költő, András

AU - Lee, Sang-Kyu

AU - Lewczuk, Karol

AU - Lin, Chung-Ying

AU - Lochner, Christine

AU - López-Alvarado, Silvia

AU - Lukavská, Kateřina

AU - Mayta-Tristán, Percy

AU - Miller, Dan J

AU - Orosová, Oľga

AU - Orosz, Gábor

AU - Ponce, Fernando P

AU - Quintana, Gonzalo R

AU - Quintero Garzola, Gabriel C

AU - Ramos-Diaz, Jano

PY - 2026/3/31

Y1 - 2026/3/31

N2 - Sexual assertiveness (SA) is an important concept in understanding sexual well-being and decision-making. However, psychometric evaluation of existing measures of SA in diverse populations is largely lacking, hindering cross-cultural and comparative studies. This study validated the short version of the Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9) and examined its measurement invariance across several languages, countries, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses among 65,448 sexually-active adults ( M age = 32.98 years, SD = 12.08, 58% women, 2.74% gender-diverse individuals) taking part in the International Sex Survey. The scale demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Measurement invariance tests indicated that the SAQ-9 is suitable for comparing individuals from different cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses, and significant group differences were also noted (e.g., gender-diverse individuals reported the highest levels of SA). Findings suggest that the SAQ-9 is a reliable and valid measure of SA and appropriate for use in diverse populations, with specific populations exhibiting varying levels of SA.

AB - Sexual assertiveness (SA) is an important concept in understanding sexual well-being and decision-making. However, psychometric evaluation of existing measures of SA in diverse populations is largely lacking, hindering cross-cultural and comparative studies. This study validated the short version of the Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9) and examined its measurement invariance across several languages, countries, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses among 65,448 sexually-active adults ( M age = 32.98 years, SD = 12.08, 58% women, 2.74% gender-diverse individuals) taking part in the International Sex Survey. The scale demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Measurement invariance tests indicated that the SAQ-9 is suitable for comparing individuals from different cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and relationship statuses, and significant group differences were also noted (e.g., gender-diverse individuals reported the highest levels of SA). Findings suggest that the SAQ-9 is a reliable and valid measure of SA and appropriate for use in diverse populations, with specific populations exhibiting varying levels of SA.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105008200734

U2 - 10.1177/10731911241312757

DO - 10.1177/10731911241312757

M3 - Article

C2 - 40099831

SN - 1073-1911

SP - 1

EP - 21

JO - Assessment

JF - Assessment

ER -

Sexual Assertiveness Across Cultures, Genders, and Sexual Orientations: Validation of the Short Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire (SAQ-9)

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