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Virginity Beliefs Scale: Stigma Subscale

The Virginity Beliefs Scale: Stigma Subscale is an 8 item measure that captures people's perception of their status as virgins as something negative and embarrassing that they needed to shed as soon as possible.

Categories

Geographies Tested: Canada

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

1. I was worried about what others might think if they found out I was a virgin.
2. I felt embarrassed over being a virgin.
3. I regarded my virginity as something negative.
4. I felt my virginity was a burden that I needed to get rid of as soon as possible.
5. I was afraid to tell my partner that I was a virgin.
6. I was afraid my partner would find out I was a virgin.
7. I actively tried to hide my status as a virgin.
8. I lost my virginity later than I would have wanted.

Response Options:
7-point Likert scale with 1 indicating Strongly disagree, 4 indicating Neutral, and 7 indicating Strongly agree.

Scoring Procedures

The average of the scores from all the items were taken to get the mean score.

Original Citation

Eriksson, J., & Humphreys, T. P. (2014). Development of the Virginity Beliefs Scale. Journal of Sex Research, 51(1), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2012.724475


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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