Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale (BSAS)
23-item measure of sexual attitudes across 4 dimensions
What do you think about sex? The BSAS looks at four dimensions of your attitudes: openness to casual sex, views on birth control, how much emotional connection matters during sex, and whether you see sex as a means to an end. 23 items, about 5 minutes.
What do you think about sex?
Not just what you do — what you actually believe. The Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale (BSAS) uses 23 items to look at four dimensions: how open you are to casual sex, what you think about birth control, how much emotional connection matters to you during sex, and whether you see sex as a means to an end. Five-point scale, about 5 minutes.
The Four Dimensions
Permissiveness (items 1–10)<br> How accepting you are of casual sex, open relationships, and uncommitted sexual encounters. High scorers are comfortable with sex without commitment; low scorers tend to treat commitment and emotional connection as prerequisites.
Birth Control (items 11–13)<br> What you think about contraception: whether it's part of responsible sexuality and whether both partners should share the responsibility. High scorers see birth control as a shared obligation.
Communion (items 14–18)<br> How much sex is an emotional and spiritual bonding experience for you. High scorers experience sex as a deep merging of two people; low scorers don't think sex needs to carry deep emotional meaning.
Instrumentality (items 19–23)<br> Whether you mainly see sex as a means to an end — personal pleasure, physical release, or self-gratification. High scorers take a functional view of sex; low scorers emphasize the relational side.
Interpreting Your Scores
Each dimension yields a mean score from 1.0 to 5.0. There is no right or wrong attitude profile — the BSAS simply shows where you stand on each dimension.
- Low (1.0–2.3) — this dimension is not very characteristic of you
- Moderate (2.4–3.6) — your view is fairly balanced
- High (3.7–5.0) — your stance on this dimension is clear
Research Background
The BSAS grew out of the 43-item Sexual Attitudes Scale (Hendrick & Hendrick, 1987) and was shortened to 23 items through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (Hendrick, Hendrick & Reich, 2006). The four subscales were retained; "Birth Control" replaced the original "Sexual Practices" dimension in the 2006 revision. In the original study (n=674), internal consistency was strong: Permissiveness α=.95, Birth Control α=.88, Communion α=.73, Instrumentality α=.77.
The scale is common in sexual health research and sex education evaluation. It measures attitudes, not behavior or health status.
Important Note
The BSAS is a research instrument designed to help you understand your sexual attitudes — not to judge them. There is no ideal profile. What matters is that your attitudes align with your values and that you treat yourself and others with respect in sexual situations.
<blockquote>Hendrick, C., Hendrick, S. S., & Reich, D. A. (2006). The Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale. Journal of Sex Research, 43(1), 76-86.</blockquote> <blockquote>Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (1987). Multidimensionality of sexual attitudes. Journal of Sex Research, 23(4), 502-526.</blockquote>Result Interpretation
After completing the 23 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.