SECRET® - SExual Chronicle REcording Table: Validation and reliability

Abstract

Background: Recording the entire sexual history of a patient from the very first sexual experiences to the current sexual habits is a challenging issue that physicians usually address with partial and non-standardized interviews.

Objectives: To validate the SExual Chronicle REcording Table (SECRET^® ), a structured written interview, developed and copyrighted both in English and Italian languages.

Materials and methods: A multicenter national validation study was performed asking 300 male patients affected by uro-andrological diseases to complete SECRET^® . The structured interview is based on four sexual dimensions (masturbation, oral, vaginal and anal sex), declined in seven items (1.Have you ever performed/Do you perform; 2.At what age did you first experience; 3.How many times a month; 4.With how many partners; 5.How much did/do you enjoy; 6.How many times did/do you use a condom; 7.How many times did/do you use the pull-out method). Data were stratified according to four stages of life (<30; 30-45; 45-60; >60 years old). Validity and reliability were assessed by using standard statistical methods for SECRET^® validation.

Results: Overall, 295 patients (98.4%) filled all the questions. SECRET^® showed a high level of internal coherence (Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.85 to 0.97) and reproducibility (paired sample t-test at Test-Retest: p > .10).

Conclusions: SECRET^® represents a novel, simple instrument to record a patient's sexual history in daily clinical practice and clinical research. SECRET^® has shown a good validity, internal consistence and reliability in different clusters of patients with uro-andrological diseases.

Keywords: Structured interview; internal coherence; reproducibility; sexual habits; sexual history.