ArticleCancer medicine2022
A psychometric evaluation of the Female Sexual Function Index in women treated for breast cancer.
Article in Cancer medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Importance of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in Oncological Vulvoperineal Defect Reconstruction: A Systematic Review.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2024Pooled it
- Patterns of sexual dysfunction among breast cancer survivors five years after diagnosis: a latent class analysis of the French VICAN5 study.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
- Sexual health in older adults with hematologic malignancies - a sub-analysis of a Danish cross-sectional study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Understanding oncological and sexual function outcomes with gynaecological organ preserving cystectomy in women with bladder cancer; a systematic review.BJUI compass · 2025Review
- Associations Between Sexual Script Flexibility and Sexual Outcomes: An Investigation Among Breast Cancer Survivor Couples.Psycho-oncology · 2025Article
- Ten years of Women's Wellness research: Key lessons from conducting randomised controlled trials of a whole-of-lifestyle behavioural intervention.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2025Article
- Optimizing thoracodorsal artery perforator flap outcomes in oncoplastic breast surgery: multidimensional assistive techniques mitigate learning curve and enhance feasibility.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The impact of premature ovarian insufficiency on sexual function; which domain is mostly disrupted?International journal of impotence research · 2024Article
- Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause in Breast Cancer Survivors: Current Perspectives on the Role of Laser Therapy.International journal of women's health · 2023Review
- A psychometric evaluation of the Female Sexual Function Index in women treated for breast cancer.Cancer medicine · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundWe aimed to determine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the 19-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in 132 sexually active women previously treated for breast cancer.
methodsConfirmatory factor analysis explored three models: (a) second-order six-factor, (b) six-factor, and (c) five-factor models combining the desire and arousal subscales.
resultsResults revealed excellent reliability for the total score (Cronbach's α = 0.94), and domain scores (all Cronbach's αs > 0.90), and good convergent and discriminant validity. The six-factor model provided the best fit of the models assessed, but a marginal overall fit (Tucker-Lewis index = 0.91, comparative fit index = 0.93, root mean square error of approximation = 0.09). Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) supported a four-factor structure, revealing an arousal/orgasm factor alongside the original pain, lubrication, and satisfaction domains.
conclusionThe arousal/orgasm factor suggests a "sexual response" construct, potentially arising from an underlying latent factor involving physical and mental stimulation in conceptualizations of arousal and orgasm in women treated for breast cancer. Finally, the EFA failed to capture an underlying desire factor, potentially due to measurement error associated with the small number of items (two) in this domain. Despite evidence that the FSFI has sound psychometric properties, our results suggest that the current conceptualizations of the FSFI might not accurately represent sexual functioning in women previously treated for breast cancer. Further research is required to elucidate the factors that influence desire, arousal, and orgasm in sexually active women in this population, and the reasons underlying sexual inactivity. Practical and theoretical implications for FSFI use in this population are discussed.
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