Translation and Adaptation of Attitude Towards Sexuality Scale (ATSS) Urdu Version in Pakistan

Abstract

Attitude Towards Sexuality Scale (ATSS) was adapted and translated for the use on Pakistani population. Convenience sampling was used for data collection and adolescents from several schools and colleges of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. A total of 316 adolescents participated in the study. ATSS developed by Fisher & Hall (1988) was used to assess sexual attitudes of adolescents. Initially, to assess the validation of ATSS on the current population, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was run to assess model fit but it resulted in identified problems because it was uni-dimensional scale so Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted. EFA showed the identification of two factors of the scale namely Liberal Attitude Towards Sexuality and Conservative Attitude Towards Sexuality. According to the results; Adolescents with conservative attitudes towards sexuality are less satisfied with their bodies and they are also more likely to have been involved in overeating or eating withdrawal. While adolescents with more liberal attitudes towards sexuality are more likely to experience body image guilt. Conservative attitudes are also indicative of a negative correlation with life skills. Results showed that ATSS is a uni-dimensional scale but the factor analysis showed two major subscales. Based on the findings, we can conclude that those who oppose the sexual, social, and cultural norms of our society are more likely to develop psychological issues such as poor life skills, negative body image and disordered eating. Hence, within Pakistan, sextual attitudes are more conservative and they are also more acceptable in comparison to liberal attitudes.