Assessing the Validity and Reliability of the Perceptions of the Consent to Sex Scale

Although sexual assault prevention education tends to focus on consent promotion as a means to reduce rates of sexual assault, little is known about how college students consent to sexual activity. The current study aimed to better understand college students' consent via the systematic development of the Consent to Sex Scale (CSS), utilizing mixed methods via three phases and two waves of data collection. In Phase 1, qualitative data were collected from college students (n = 185) to provide a foundation for item writing. In Phase 2, closed-ended items were written for a quantitative instrument and reviewed by a team of experts. In Phase 3, a quantitative survey, including items written in Phase 2, was administered to college students (n = 685); the measure was assessed for its psychometric properties. Exploratory factor analysis was utilized, resulting in a five-factor solution. The CSS and corresponding factors demonstrated high internal consistency reliability and expected gender differences, supporting the construct validity of the measure. The CSS assesses college students' cues for indicating consent to sex, a construct not addressed by previous measures. The validated scale may be useful in future research to better understand how consent relates to other behaviors or constructs.