Women’s Nontraditional Sexuality Questionnaire (WNSQ)
Measures women's nontraditional sexual behaviors and attitudes, including casual sex, sex as a means to an end, and commercial sex.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Women’s Nontraditional Sexuality Questionnaire (WNSQ) was developed by Ronald F. Levant, K. Bryant Smalley, Thomas J. Rankin, Alexander Colbow, Kristin David, Christine M. Williams (2009). It is designed to measure Nontraditional sexual behaviors and attitudes in women. The scale is intended for use with Women.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 40 items organized into 5 factors/subscales: Degree of Sexual Interest, Casual Sex, Involvement in Commercial Sex, Sex as a Means to an End, Nontraditional Attitudes About Sex.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Degree of Sexual Interest | 7,11,14,20,21,27 | 6 |
| Casual Sex | 9,10,17,22,23,28,29 | 7 |
| Involvement in Commercial Sex | 12,13,18,19,24,25,31,32 | 8 |
| Sex as a Means to an End | 8,15,16,26,30,35,39 | 7 |
| Nontraditional Attitudes About Sex | 33,34,36,37,38,40 | 6 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Never / Strongly Disagree, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = Neutral, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = Frequently / Strongly Agree.
The scale includes 4 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 1 to 7. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low endorsement of nontraditional sexuality: 1 – 2
- Moderate endorsement of nontraditional sexuality: 2 – 5
- High endorsement of nontraditional sexuality: 5 – 7
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Total scale alpha = .88.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.