Sexual Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ)
12 questions to understand your sexual awareness style — your sensitivity, assertiveness, and focus areas
How aware are you of your own sexual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors? The SAQ looks at sexual consciousness, assertiveness, and self-monitoring. 12 items, about 5 minutes.
What is sexual awareness?
"Sexual awareness" is just a fancy way of asking: how much do you notice your own sexual thoughts, feelings, and the signals coming from the world around you?
Some people have a pretty clear sense of what they want, what they don't, and what their body is telling them. Others don't spend much mental energy on this stuff — or they're more focused on "what do other people think" than "what do I think."
The SAQ breaks this into four separate dimensions:
Sexual Consciousness — Do you pay attention to your own sexual feelings and motivations? Or does it not cross your mind much?
Sexual Monitoring — Are you tuned into how other people might be evaluating your sexuality? Kind of like watching yourself from someone else's perspective.
Sexual Assertiveness — Can you make your own calls when it comes to sex? Can you say what you want?
Sex-Appeal Consciousness — Do you have a sense of whether other people find you sexy?
These dimensions are independent. You can be high on one and low on another — high Consciousness but low Assertiveness, or high Monitoring but low Appeal-Consciousness. There's no single "right" profile.
How reliable is it?
The SAQ was published in 1991. Internal consistency across the four dimensions ranges from .80 to .91 in student samples, with two-week test-retest reliability of r = .79-.87. It's not a diagnostic tool — just a lens for self-reflection.
Who is this for?
Adults (18+) curious about their own sexual psychology.
⚠️ Disclaimer
The SAQ is a research questionnaire, not a clinical diagnostic instrument. Results are for informational and self-reflective purposes only. If you have concerns about your sexual health, please consult a qualified professional.
Scoring Guide
Mean score per dimension (0-4). Sexual Consciousness (items 1,4,6): awareness of internal sexual feelings. Sexual Monitoring (items 2,5,7): sensitivity to others' evaluation. Sexual Assertiveness (items 3,9,10): autonomy in sexual matters. Sex-Appeal Consciousness (items 8,11R,12): awareness of one's own sex appeal. Item 11 reverse-scored. 0-1=Low, 1-2.5=Moderate, 2.5-4=High.Result Interpretation
After completing the 12 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Dimension breakdown — separate scores for each sub-scale
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.