This measure assesses the latent construct of sexual and reproductive empowerment among adolescents and young adults. A specific measure for this group is critical because of their unique life stage and circumstances, which often includes frequent changes in sexual partners and involvement from parents in decision-making.
Developed by:
Ushma D. Upadhyay, Claire D. Brindis, Jessica D. Gipson, Diana Greene Foster, Phoebe Y. Danza, Torsten B. Neilands, Michelle J. Hindin, Shari L. Dworkin (University of California San Francisco)
Measure domains:
7 domains:
Comfort talking with partner
Choice of partners, marriage, and children
Parental support
Sexual safety
Self-love
Sense of future
Sexual pleasure
Comfort talking with partner
Choice of partners, marriage, and children
Parental support
Sexual safety
Self-love
Sense of future
Sexual pleasure
Items and subscales:
23 items and 7 subscales:
Comfort talking with partner
Choice of partners, marriage, and children
Parental support
Sexual safety
Self-love
Sense of future
Sexual pleasure
Comfort talking with partner
Choice of partners, marriage, and children
Parental support
Sexual safety
Self-love
Sense of future
Sexual pleasure
Outcomes predicted:
Access to SRH information
Access to SRH service
Desired contraceptive use by gender
Access to SRH service
Desired contraceptive use by gender
Cronbach's alpha:
Subscales ranged from 0.71–0.84
Study population(s):
National sample of adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years (male and female) in the United States
Additional information:
Females scored higher on the communication subscale but lower on the sexual safety subscale. Younger AYA scored lower on the sexual pleasure subscale. In contrast to most existing measures, this SRE scale provides an opportunity to assess sexual and reproductive empowerment among boys and men, as well as girls and women.
Measure validated?:
Yes
Link(s) to Validation Study and/or Measure:
Citation of original article
Get citationUpadhyay UD, Danza PY, Neilands TB, Gipson JD, Brindis CD, Hindin MG, Greene Foster D, Dworkin SL (2020). Development and validation of the Sexual and Reproductive Empowerment Scale for Adolescents and Young Adults. J Adolesc Health.