The purpose of this scale is to examine how individuals and their partners communicate about sex. Please read and respond to each statement with your current partner in mind.
For each statement:
A = Strongly agree with the statement
B = Moderately agree with the statement
C = Neutral- neither agree or disagree
D = Moderately disagree with the statement
E = Strongly disagree with the statement
1. My partner rarely responds when I want to talk about our sex life.
2. Some sexual matters are too upsetting to discuss with my sexual partner.
3. There are sexual issues of problems in our sexual relationship that we have never discussed.
4. My partner and I never seem to resolve our disagreements about sexual issues.
5. Whenever my partner and I talk about sex‚ I feel like she or he is lecturing me.
6. My partner often complains that I am not very clear about what I want sexually.
7. My partner and I have never had a heart-to-heart talk about our sex life together.
8. My partner has no difficulty in talking to me about his or her sexual feelings and desires.
9. Even when angry with me‚ my partner is able to appreciate my views on sexuality.
10. Talking about sex is a satisfying experience for both of us.
11. My partner and I can usually talk calmly about our sex life.
12. I have little difficulty in telling my partner what I do or don’t do sexually.
13. I seldom feel embarrassed when talking about the details of our sex life with my partner..
This scale includes 13 items and has demonstrated high reliability in previous research (alpha = .81). The DSC has been used to discriminate individuals reporting sexual problems from those not reporting sexual problems.
This instrument can be found on page 175 of The Relationship Between Conflict and Communication‚ Sex‚ Relationship Satisfaction‚ and other Relational Variables in Dating Relationships. Available online at:http://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/9978/Zacchilli_Tammy_Diss.pdf?sequence=1
Tammy Lowery Zacchilli‚ 2007. The Relationship Between Conflict and Communication‚ Sex‚ Relationship Satisfaction‚ and other Relational Variables in Dating Relationships. A Dissertation In EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. Texas Tech University
Catania‚ J. A. (1998). Dyadic Sexual Communication Scale. In C.M. Davis‚ W. L. Yarber‚ R. Bauserman‚ G. Schreer‚ & S. L. Davis (Eds.)‚ Handbook of sexuality-related measures (pp. 129-131). Thousand Oaks‚ CA: Sage Publications.