The Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire (SDBQ)<\/strong> is a standardized self-report psychometric instrument developed by Pedro J. Nobre, Jos\u00e9 Pinto-Gouveia, and F. A. Gomes in 2003. Designed to assess rigid, maladaptive sexual beliefs and cognitive schemas that act as predisposing, precipitating, and maintaining vulnerability factors for sexual dysfunctions, the instrument comprises two gender-specific forms: the Male Version (SDBQ-M) and the Female Version (SDBQ-F). Both versions consist of 40 statements evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“Completely Disagree”) to 5 (“Completely Agree”). Principal component analyses with varimax rotation revealed distinct six-factor structural models for each version. For the male version, the six factors account for 49% of the total variance and encompass: (1) Sexual Conservatism, (2) Female Sexual Power, (3) “Macho” Belief, (4) Beliefs About Women\u2019s Sexual Satisfaction, (5) Restrictive Attitude Toward Sex, and (6) Sex as an Abuse of Men\u2019s Power (with 37 retained items). For the female version, the six factors account for 43% of the total variance, comprising: (1) Sexual Conservatism, (2) Sexual Desire and Pleasure as a Sin, (3) Age-Related Beliefs, (4) Body-Image Beliefs, (5) Denying Affection Primacy, and (6) Motherhood Primacy (with 34 retained items). The SDBQ demonstrates robust internal consistency, with total scale Cronbach\u2019s alpha coefficients reaching .93 for the male version and .81 for the female version, alongside dimensional alphas ranging between .50 and .89. Test-retest reliability across a four-week interval indicates strong temporal stability (male r<\/em> = .73; female r<\/em> = .80). Convergent validity has been confirmed through statistically significant associations with the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)<\/a>, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)<\/a>, and the Sexual Beliefs and Information Questionnaire (SBIQ). Discriminant analyses demonstrate that clinical cohorts with diagnosed sexual disorders endorse significantly higher levels of dysfunctional beliefs compared to matched sexually healthy controls. The SDBQ serves as an indispensable tool in cognitive-behavioral sex therapy, clinical diagnostics, and sexological research<\/span>.<\/p>\n Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire, SDBQ, sexual dysfunction, cognitive schemas, sexual conservatism, macho beliefs, sex therapy, cognitive-behavioral assessment, psychometrics, sexual health<\/p>\n The Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire was developed by clinical psychologists and psychosexual researchers based in Portugal:<\/p>\n The primary purpose of the Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire is to provide an empirical, standardized measure of cognitive vulnerability factors implicated in the onset, exacerbation, and perpetuation of psychogenic sexual dysfunctions in both clinical and nonclinical populations. In modern clinical sexology and psychopathology, sexual functioning is recognized as an integrated neurobiological and cognitive-affective process. While physiological factors provide the substrate for sexual excitation and genital response, cognitive appraisals, attentional focus, and deeply ingrained assumptions critically govern sexual outcomes.<\/p>\n Historically, early sexological frameworks, such as the pioneering behavioral models of Masters and Johnson<\/a> and Helen Singer Kaplan, identified performance anxiety and “spectatoring” (inwardly monitoring one’s own physiological performance) as central drivers of sexual impairment. However, pure behavioral conditioning fails to explain why certain individuals develop severe performance anxiety while others exposed to identical demands remain resilient. Cognitive-behavioral theory posits that underlying cognitive schemas\u2014termed sexual dysfunctional beliefs\u2014act as cognitive filters that process sexual cues selectively, triggering negative automatic thoughts, catastrophizing, hypervigilance, and physiological inhibition during sexual encounters.<\/p>\n The SDBQ operationalizes these cognitive schemas. It enables clinicians and clinical researchers to:<\/p>\n The overarching construct assessed by the SDBQ is sexual cognitive vulnerability<\/em>, manifested as rigid, maladaptive, unrealistic, and culturally conditioned beliefs concerning sexual performance, gender roles, physical aesthetics, aging, and sexual morality. Because cultural conditioning differentially shapes male and female sexual socialization, Nobre and colleagues established gender-specific constructs organized into distinct subscales for men and women.<\/p>\n The male version evaluates six primary cognitive dimensions:<\/p>\n The female version examines six distinct cognitive schemas:<\/p>\n The theoretical framework underpinning the SDBQ is grounded in Aaron T. Beck’s cognitive therapy model<\/a> and Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)<\/a>, adapted specifically to sexual medicine by Pedro J. Nobre and Jos\u00e9 Pinto-Gouveia in their Cognitive-Affective Model of Sexual Functioning<\/em>.<\/p>\n According to Beck’s cognitive model of psychopathology, early developmental experiences, socio-cultural socialization, religious strictures, and parental conditioning give rise to deeply embedded cognitive structures known as core beliefs or schemas. These schemas remain dormant until triggered by relevant situational events\u2014in this context, an explicit sexual encounter or a momentary lapse in physiological response (e.g., situational loss of erection or delayed lubrication). Once activated, dysfunctional schemas bias cognitive processing, causing individuals to systematically misinterpret ambiguous physiological or relational signals.<\/p>\n In Nobre\u2019s cognitive-affective formulation, sexual dysfunction operates via a self-perpetuating feedback loop:<\/p>\n The SDBQ captures the foundational cognitive tier of this model. By systematically measuring the latent schemas that drive this destructive spiral, the instrument bridges the gap between general cognitive theory and the idiosyncratic nuances of sexual clinical psychology.<\/p>\n The psychometric validity of the Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire has been rigorously examined across numerous clinical and community investigations.<\/p>\n Construct validity was initially established by Nobre, Pinto-Gouveia, and Gomes (2003) via principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation, confirming that the questionnaire captures distinct, conceptually coherent dimensions of psychosexual vulnerability rather than an undifferentiated, unitary construct of general conservatism.<\/p>\n Convergent validity was demonstrated through statistically significant correlations with established domain-specific and general psychosexual instruments:<\/p>\n Discriminant validity was established by comparing clinical cohorts diagnosed with DSM-defined sexual dysfunctions against matched sexually healthy control groups:<\/p>\n The SDBQ exhibits excellent reliability profiles across both internal consistency parameters and temporal stability metrics in published psychometric evaluations.<\/p>\n In the seminal psychometric validation study conducted by Nobre, Pinto-Gouveia, and Gomes (2003), Cronbach\u2019s alpha for the total scale was:<\/p>\n Subscale-level internal consistency analyses revealed varying ranges reflecting the nuanced, heterogeneous nature of specific cognitive domains:<\/p>\n Temporal stability was evaluated by administering the SDBQ twice to nonclinical participant groups over a 4-week interval. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients indicated substantial temporal stability:<\/p>\n These coefficients confirm that the SDBQ assesses enduring cognitive traits and schemas rather than transient mood states or fleeting situational attitudes.<\/p>\n The structural dimensionality of the SDBQ was derived via separate exploratory principal component analyses (PCA) with orthogonal (varimax) rotation conducted on large Portuguese community and clinical samples for each gender.<\/p>\n The PCA for the male version extracted six meaningful components explaining 49% of the total variance<\/strong>. Of the initial 40 pool items, 37 items met the retention criteria (primary factor loadings ≥ .35, minimal cross-loadings), while items 14, 20, and 23 were excluded from dimensional scoring<\/span>:<\/p>\n The PCA for the female version extracted six distinct components accounting for 43% of the total variance<\/strong>. Thirty-four items were retained across six factors, with items 9, 16, 19, 21, 25, and 29 dropped from final factor allocation due to low saturation or cross-loadings:<\/p>\n The Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire was first formally published in 2003<\/strong> by Pedro J. Nobre, Jos\u00e9 Pinto-Gouveia, and F. A. Gomes in the peer-reviewed journal Sexual and Relationship Therapy<\/em>.<\/p>\n Licensing and Academic Use:<\/strong> The SDBQ is considered an academic, non-commercial assessment instrument. It is widely accessible for academic research, university teaching, and non-profit clinical practice. However, official permission for clinical adoption, full manual access, translation into other languages, or computerized adaptation should be directed to the corresponding author:<\/p>\n Commercial deployment, integration into proprietary healthcare software, or corporate clinical trial applications require formal authorization and licensing agreements with the copyright holders and publishing entities.<\/p>\n Adams, S. G., Dubbert, P. M., Chupurdia, K. M., Jones, A., Lofland, K. R., & Leermakers, E. (1996). Assessment of sexual beliefs and information in aging couples with sexual dysfunction. Archives of Sexual Behavior<\/em>, 25(3), 249\u2013260. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/BF02437922<\/a><\/p>\n Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression<\/em>. Guilford Press.<\/p>\n Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy<\/em>. Lyle Stuart.<\/p>\n Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1970). Human sexual inadequacy<\/em>. Little, Brown and Company.<\/p>\n Nobre, P. J., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2006). Dysfunctional sexual beliefs as vulnerability factors to sexual dysfunction. The Journal of Sex Research<\/em>, 43(1), 68\u201375. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/00224490609552299<\/a><\/p>\n Nobre, P. J., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2008). Cognitions, emotions, and sexual response: Analysis of the relationship among automatic thoughts, emotional responses, and sexual arousal in men and women. The Journal of Sex Research<\/em>, 45(4), 394\u2013402. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/00224490802398381<\/a><\/p>\n Nobre, P. J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Gomes, F. A. (2003). Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire: An instrument to assess sexual dysfunctional beliefs as vulnerability factors to sexual problems. Sexual and Relationship Therapy<\/em>, 18(2), 171\u2013204. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/1468199031000114244<\/a><\/p>\n Rosen, R. C., Brown, C., Heiman, J., Leiblum, S., Meston, C., Shabsig, R., Ferguson, D., & D’Agostino, R., Jr. (2000). The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): A multidimensional self-report instrument for the assessment of female sexual function. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy<\/em>, 26(2), 191\u2013208. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/009262300278598<\/a><\/p>\n Rosen, R. C., Riley, A., Wagner, G., Osterloh, I. H., Kirkpatrick, J., & Mishra, A. (1997). The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF): A multidimensional scale for assessment of erectile dysfunction. Urology<\/em>, 49(6), 822\u2013830. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0090-4295(97)00238-0<\/a><\/p>\n2. Keywords<\/h2>\n
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Female Version (SDBQ-F) Dimensions<\/h3>\n
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9. Factor Analysis<\/h2>\n
Male Version Factor Structure<\/h3>\n
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Female Version Factor Structure<\/h3>\n
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13. Items of the Scale (Questionnaire)<\/h2>\n