What is Good Sex, and for Whom? A Psychometric Perspective
Abstract
Research has demonstrated that satisfying sex is a crucial element for sexual health. However, what makes good sex good, and for whom, are often not explored, and these conceptualizations are critical to equitable sexual health promotion. I therefore explored different groups’ good sex constructions using novel psychometric methods (i.e., applying qualitative meaning-making interpretations to bifactor-specific invariance tests). I recruited 13 diverse groups (N = 3,141) consisting of: gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual, heterosexual, cisgender, non-binary, kink and non-monogamous identities. I asked participants the extent to which they considered 67 sexual behaviors as representing “good sex.” Pairwise invariance tests revealed different meanings for 62 sexual behaviors on both item loadings (i.e., incremental good sex), and intercepts (i.e., baseline good sex). My results suggest that that different groups have unique “good sex” conceptualizations. This research is significant because recognizing unique good sex constructions can lead to group-specific approaches to equitable sexual health promotion.