Cross-cultural Validation of the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) in 42 Countries and 26 Languages

Abstract

**Introduction** The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) is a brief questionnaire that evaluates fve major aspects of sexual function: sex drive, arousal, erectile function/vaginal lubrication, ability to reach orgasm, and satisfaction with orgasm. An advantage of the ASEX is its simplicity and brevity (fve items), making it suitable for the screening of sexual function problems in healthcare contexts and large-scale studies. The main objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the ASEX in a multi-national sample, as well as to explore sexual function according to countries, genders, and sexual orientations. **Methods** The psychometric examination of the ASEX was conducted with a sample of 82,243 participants (women=57.02%; men=39.59%; gender-diverse=3.38%; Mage=32.39 years; SD=12.52) from 42 diferent countries speaking 26 languages. **Results** The CFA supported a one-factor solution. Multigroup CFAs supported confgural, metric, partial scalar, and residual invariance across countries, languages, genders, and sexual orientations. Furthermore, the ASEX showed good internal consistency (ω=.85) and convergent validity (e.g., signifcant negative associations with masturbation and sexual intercourse frequency). Finally, individuals in Eastern countries, women, and asexual participants reported higher levels of sexual function issues. **Conclusions and Policy Implications** The fndings supported the use of the ASEX as a tool to screen for sexual function problems across diverse populations in multi-cultural settings. This scale may be used to improve our knowledge on the cross-cultural diferences on the expression of sexual function, serving as the basis for the development of culturally tailored interventions for the improvement of this basic aspect of well-being.