Sex Anxiety Inventory

  1. Buying a pornographic book
a. wouldn’t bother me
b. would make me nervous*
  1. Extramarital sex
a. is O.K. if everyone agrees
b. can break up families*
  1. Initiating sexual relationships
a. is a very stressful experience*
b. causes me no problem at all
  1. Oral sex
a. would arouse me
b. would terrify me*
  1. When I meet someone I’m attracted to…
a. I get to know him or her
b. I feel nervous*
  1. When I was younger…
a. I was looking forward to ha‎ving sex
b. the thought of sex scared me*
  1. When I engage in petting…
a. I feel scared at first*
b. I thoroughly enjoy it
  1. After ha‎ving sexual thoughts…
a. I feel aroused
b. I feel jittery*
  1. Masturbation

a. causes me to worry*
b. can be a useful substitute
  1. Sex…
a. can cause as much anxiety as pleasure*
b. on the whole is good and enjoyable
  1. I feel nervous…
a. about initiating sexual relations*
b. about nothing‚ when it comes to members of the opposite sex
  1. When others flirt with me…
a. I don’t know what to do*
b. I flirt back
  1. Group sex…
a. would scare me to death*
b. might be interesting
  1. If in the future I committed adultery…
a. I would probably get caught*
b. I wouldn’t feel bad about it
  1. I would…
a. feel too nervous to tell a dirty joke in mixed company*
b. tell a dirty joke if it were funny
  1. Dirty jokes…
a. make me feel uncomfortable*
b. often make me laugh
  1. When I awake from sex dreams…
a. I feel pleasant and relaxed
b. I feel tense*
  1. When I have sexual desires
a. I worry about what I should do*
b. I do something to satisfy them
  1. If in the future I committed adultery
a. it would be nobody’s business but my own
b. I would worry about my spouse’s finding out*
  1. Casual sex…

a. is better than no sex at all
b. can hurt many people*
  1. Extramarital sex…
a. is sometimes necessary
b. can damage one’s career*
  1. Sexual advances…
a. leave me feeling tense
b. are welcomed
  1. When I have sexual relations…
a. I feel satisfied
b. I worry about being discovered*
  1. When talking about sex in mixed company
a. I feel nervous*
b. I sometimes get excited
  1. If I were to flit with someone
a. I would worry about his or her reaction*
b. I would enjoy it
       * sexual anxiety    
           
 
 

Janda‚ L. H.‚ & O’Grady‚ E. E. (1980). Development of a sex anxiety inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology‚ 48‚ 169-175.

Additional material pertaining to this scale‚ including information about format‚ scoring‚ reliability‚ and validity is available in Fisher‚ Davis‚ Yarber‚ and Davis (2010).

Fisher‚ T. D.‚ Davis‚ C. M.‚ Yarber‚ W. L.‚ & Davis‚ S. L. (2010). Handbook of Sexuality-Related Measures. New York:Routledge.

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