Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales

The Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES) (66) was developed to assess individual differences in the sexual response. The SIS/SES includes 45 items, divided into three factors: Sexual Excitation (SES; example item: “When I start fantasizing about sex, I quickly become sexually aroused”); Sexual Inhibition Due to Threat of Performance Failure (SIS1; example item: “Once I have an erection, I want to start intercourse right away before I lose my erection/Once I am sexually aroused, I want to start intercourse right away before I lose my arousal”), and Sexual Inhibition Due to Threat of Performance Consequences (SIS2; “If I realize there is a risk of catching a sexually transmitted, I am unlikely to stay sexually aroused”). These three scales are evaluated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Agree, 4 = Strongly Disagree), where lower scores indicate higher SE and SI (66). The Italian version presented acceptable to good psychometric properties (0.69 < α < 0.89; Pearson's r > 0.60) (67). In the present study, internal consistency was acceptable to good for all the scales (range of Cronbach's alphas = 0.76–0.82).