Validation of a Visual Analogue Scale to measure the subjective perception of orgasmic intensity in females: The Orgasmometer-F

The female orgasm represents one of the most complex functions in the field of human sexuality. The conjunction of the anatomical, physiological, psycho-relational and socio-cultural components contributes to make the female orgasm still partly unclear. The female orgasmic experience, its correlates...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2018-08, Vol.13 (8), p.e0202076-e0202076
Main Authors: Mollaioli, Daniele, Di Sante, Stefania, Limoncin, Erika, Ciocca, Giacomo, Gravina, Giovanni Luca, Maseroli, Elisa, Fanni, Egidia, Vignozzi, Linda, Maggi, Mario, Lenzi, Andrea, Jannini, Emmanuele A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis
Arousal
Biology and Life Sciences
Breastfeeding & lactation
Care and treatment
Case-Control Studies
Endocrinology
Engineering and Technology
Female
Females
Humans
Internet
Lubrication
Medicine
Medicine and Health Sciences
Normal distribution
Orgasm
Perception
Perception (Psychology)
Physical Sciences
Physiology
Pregnancy
Psychometrics - methods
Psychometrics - standards
Quantitative psychology
Questionnaires
Recording
Research and Analysis Methods
Sensitivity analysis
Sexual behavior
Sexual disorders
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - diagnosis
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - psychology
Sexuality
Social Sciences
Visual perception
Womens health
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The female orgasm represents one of the most complex functions in the field of human sexuality. The conjunction of the anatomical, physiological, psycho-relational and socio-cultural components contributes to make the female orgasm still partly unclear. The female orgasmic experience, its correlates and the relation with sexual desire, arousal and lubrication as predictors are highly debated in scientific community. In this context, little is known about the impact of female sexual dysfunction (SD) on sexual pleasure expressed by subjective orgasmic intensity, and there are no suitable psychometric tools suited to investigate this dimension. Thus, we validate, in female subjects, a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) that we named Orgasmometer-F, to verify if SD is accompanied by a lower perceived orgasmic intensity. A total of 526 women, recruited through a web-based platform and from sexological outpatient clinic, were enrolled in the study. They were divided into, on the basis of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) score in two groups: 1) 112women suffering from SD, (SD Group); and 2) 414 sexually healthy women (Control Group). The participants were requested to fill out the Orgasmometer-F, recording orgasmic intensity on a Likert scale from 0 (absence of orgasmic intensity) to 10 (maximum orgasmic intensity experienced). Women with SD experienced significantly lower orgasmic intensity than controls, as measured by the Orgasmometer-F (p < 0.0001). Interestingly, masturbatory frequency was positively correlated with orgasmic intensity, as were the lubrication, orgasm and sexual satisfaction domains of the FSFI. The Orgasmometer-F was well understood, had a good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.93) and a high AUC in differentiating between women with and without sexual dysfunction (AUC = 0.9; p < 0.0001). The ROC curve analysis showed that a cut-off
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0202076