Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale

Abstract

The Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale (NSIS) is a psychometrically validated, multidimensional self-report instrument developed by William D. Marelich and colleagues to assess individual differences in underlying motivational drivers for engaging in sexual intimacy. Rooted in Henry A. Murray's classic personological theory of psychogenic needs (Murray, 1938), the NSIS departs from traditional sexological measures that focus exclusively on physiological libido, sexual frequency, or mechanical sexual functioning. Instead, it captures the psychological and relational motives that guide interpersonal sexual behavior across three core dimensions: Need for Sex (8 items), Need for Affiliation (9 items), and Need for Dominance (5 items), totaling 22 items rated on a 5-point Likert-type response scale ranging from 1 (Disagree Definitely) to 5 (Agree Definitely).

Psychometric evaluation through exploratory factor analysis (utilizing principal axis factoring with oblique rotation) and subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supports a robust three-factor oblique structure, as well as a viable second-order hierarchical model representing an overarching construct of sexual intimacy motivation. The instrument demonstrates sound internal consistency across diverse adult and collegiate samples, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients reported at .88 for the Need for Sex subscale, .82 for the Need for Affiliation subscale, and .74 for the Need for Dominance subscale. Extensive criterion-related and construct validity studies show that elevated scores on Need for Sex and Need for Dominance are strongly associated with high-risk sexual behaviors, including decreased condom use consistency, higher rates of alcohol and drug consumption during intercourse, elevated numbers of casual sexual partners, impaired safe-sex communication, and deceptive practices regarding HIV testing status. Conversely, Need for Affiliation is characterized by relational fidelity, authentic communication, and emotional interdependence. This comprehensive article provides an in-depth psychometric, theoretical, and practical review of the NSIS, elucidating its administration, scoring rules, theoretical underpinnings, diagnostic utility, and research applications in public health, social psychology, and clinical sex therapy.

Keywords

Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale, NSIS, sexual motivation, Murray personology, need for sex, need for affiliation, need for dominance, sexual risk behaviors, psychometrics, factor analysis

Authors

The Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale was developed by William D. Marelich, Ph.D., and Erin Shelton, M.A., within the Department of Psychology at California State University, Fullerton, with foundational psychometric validation published in collaboration with Joyce Lundquist (Marelich & Lundquist, 2008).

• William D. Marelich, Ph.D.: Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92834. Dr. Marelich specializes in applied social psychology, health psychology, quantitative methodologies, human sexuality, and interpersonal decision-making, particularly concerning HIV/STI risk behaviors and relationship processes. (E-mail: [email protected]).
• Erin Shelton, M.A.: Researcher and scholar affiliated with the Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, collaborating on instrument design, behavioral validation, and empirical investigations into intimate relationship dynamics.
• Joyce Lundquist, Ph.D.: Co-author of foundational psychometric validation studies on the needs-based sexual intimacy framework and associated clinical health outcomes.

Purpose

Human sexual behavior is rarely motivated by biological drive alone. While physiological urges and neurochemical cascades prompt reproductive and hedonistic actions, sexual encounters are profoundly mediated by cognitive, social, and personality-driven goals. Prior to the development of the Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale (NSIS), existing psychometric measures in sexology predominantly focused on physiological libido, frequency of sexual intercourse, genital arousal, or sexual dysfunction (such as the Female Sexual Function Index or the International Index of Erectile Function). Other tools measured sexual compulsivity or broad relational intimacy, yet few systematically addressed the underlying psychological *needs* that propel people to pursue sexual interactions in specific interpersonal styles.

The primary purpose of the NSIS is to measure distinct motivational configurations that drive individuals toward sexual intimacy. By delineating three fundamental human motives—the need for physical sex, the need for emotional affiliation, and the need for interpersonal dominance—the scale provides a comprehensive operational framework for understanding *why* individuals initiate, maintain, negotiate, or alter their intimate contacts. This distinction between the biological urge to engage in sex and the interpersonal psychological needs fulfilled by sex provides crucial explanatory power across multiple scientific and applied domains:

• Public Health and STI/HIV Prevention: Sexual decision-making frequently defies purely rational models of health behavior, such as the Health Belief Model or the Theory of Planned Behavior. Individuals often engage in unprotected intercourse despite possessing accurate knowledge regarding the risks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The NSIS identifies motivational vulnerabilities that directly predict sexual risk-taking. Specifically, individuals with high Need for Sex and high Need for Dominance frequently prioritize immediate physical release or partner control over prophylactic safety, leading to decreased condom use, increased substance use during sex, multiple concurrent sexual partners, and intentional misrepresentation of STI/HIV status. In public health contexts, the NSIS functions as an effective screening tool to identify populations requiring targeted primary prevention interventions and condom negotiation skills training.
• Couples Therapy and Clinical Sexology: In clinical settings, romantic partners frequently report discrepancies in sexual desire. However, marital and family therapists recognize that "desire discrepancy" is often an oversimplification of deeper motivational discord. One partner may seek sexual activity primarily to fulfill an intense Need for Affiliation (seeking validation, emotional safety, tenderness, and mutual companionship), while the other may approach intimacy through a high Need for Sex (physical release and erotic novelty) or a Need for Dominance (maintaining relational leverage and control). Deploying the NSIS allows clinicians to dissect these divergent psychological currents, providing a non-judgmental psychometric profile that facilitates empathetic communication and reframes conflict from "too much or too little sex" into mismatched psychological needs.
• Social and Personality Psychology Research: The NSIS serves as a versatile research instrument for investigating close relationships, attachment theory, mate selection strategies, dark triad personality traits, sexual script theory, and the social psychology of power. By isolating affiliation from physical gratification and power assertion, researchers can model complex structural equations linking personality traits to relational satisfaction, infidelity, sexual coercion, and communication patterns.

Psychological Construct

The psychological construct measured by the NSIS is *motivation for sexual intimacy*, defined as the dispositional strength of specific psychological needs that an individual seeks to satisfy through romantic and sexual interactions. Grounded in Henry Murray's personological taxonomy of needs, the construct posits that human behavior in the sexual arena is organized around enduring motivational tendencies that direct perception, thought, and behavioral execution. The construct is explicitly multidimensional, comprising three distinct yet interrelated sub-constructs:

1. Need for Sex

The Need for Sex subscale captures an individual's dispositional craving for purely erotic, physical, and sensory fulfillment. It reflects the intensity, urgency, and frequency with which a person desires sexual encounters, orgasmic release, and physical abandon. Unlike broad measures of biological libido, this subscale conceptualizes sex as an imperative goal state within intimate partnerships. Individuals scoring high on this dimension view sex as a non-negotiable, central requirement of daily life. Representative behavioral manifestations include:

• Demanding high sexual frequency (e.g., daily or multiple times per week).
• Placing exceptional value on a partner's technical sexual skill and erotic competence.
• Viewing sexual release as the single most critical component of romantic partnerships.
• A propensity to seek sexual variety and a willingness to engage with multiple sexual partners to satisfy physical drives.

Empirically, high Need for Sex correlates positively with the frequency of casual sexual encounters, one-night stands, and a permissive sociosexual orientation (sociosexuality). When physical gratification dominates the motivational hierarchy, cognitive bandwidth allocated to long-term relational health or prophylactic disease prevention is frequently diminished.

2. Need for Affiliation

The Need for Affiliation subscale assesses the drive for emotional closeness, mutual attachment, social connectedness, tender physical affection, and psychological intimacy within a partnership. Rooted in Murray's concept of n Aff, this dimension represents the relational, bonding aspect of sexual intimacy. For individuals high in Need for Affiliation, sexual activity serves as a vehicle for emotional communion, reassurance, and interpersonal solidarity rather than mere physiological detumescence. Key psychological features include:

• An urgent desire for reciprocal love, deep trust, and emotional loyalty.
• Seeking tender physical expressions that are not necessarily focused on genital performance, such as holding hands, cuddling, and sleeping beside a partner.
• Intense longing for life companionship and shared social networks.
• Frequent cognitive preoccupation with the partner's well-being and relational harmony.

From an attachment perspective, high Need for Affiliation reflects an orientation toward secure bonding and mutual interdependence. Behaviorally, individuals elevated on this dimension demonstrate high honesty regarding their sexual history, lower rates of deceptive practices surrounding HIV/STI status, and superior communication regarding emotional needs.

3. Need for Dominance

The Need for Dominance subscale measures the motivation to exert power, influence, psychological control, and interpersonal mastery over a partner within the intimate and sexual sphere. Drawing from Murray's concept of n Dom, this subscale captures the dark, power-seeking facets of sexual relating. It is not equivalent to consensual, mutually negotiated erotic dominance (such as within BDSM frameworks); rather, it captures an asymmetrical need for relational subjugation, entitlement, and manipulation. Core manifestations include:

• The desire to dictate the terms, timing, and nature of sexual activity, up to and including the felt entitlement to command a partner to have sex.
• Demands for extensive surveillance and behavioral tracking (e.g., requiring a partner to report their whereabouts at all times).
• Viewing romantic and sexual relationships as transactional arrangements wherein the partner is expected to yield material benefits, financial support, or status symbols.
• A subjective preference for manipulating or sexually subordinating one's partner during intimate encounters.

Individuals scoring high on Need for Dominance represent a critical demographic in clinical and forensic psychology. This dimension exhibits substantial conceptual overlap with interpersonal exploitativeness, Machiavellianism, and psychological aggression, directly correlating with lower condom use compliance, resistance to partner refusal, and elevated sexual risk behavior.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical architecture of the Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale is explicitly anchored in the personological system of personality articulated by Henry A. Murray in his seminal 1938 work, Explorations in Personality. Murray pioneered a comprehensive organismic model of human motivation centered on the dynamic interplay between internal needs (states of tension within the individual that drive action to achieve satisfaction) and external press (environmental forces, demands, or affordances that facilitate or inhibit need satisfaction).

Murray's Psychogenic Needs

Murray classified human needs into two broad categories: viscerogenic needs (primary physiological drives such as hunger, thirst, and physical avoidance of pain) and psychogenic needs (secondary psychological desires that emerge from mental and emotional functioning). Within Murray's original taxonomy of twenty psychogenic needs, three specific constructs serve as the conceptual pillars for the NSIS:

• Need for Sex (n Sex / n Sentience): Murray conceptualized n Sex as the need to seek and enjoy sensual impressions, pursue erotic contact, form sexual alliances, and engage in sexual intercourse. In the NSIS, Marelich and colleagues expanded this definition to capture modern expressions of erotic urgency, orgasmic frequency, and sexual novelty within contemporary dating and marital environments.
• Need for Affiliation (n Affiliation): Defined by Murray as the drive to draw near and enjoyably cooperate or converse with an allied other; to adhere and remain loyal to a friend; and to win affection. In the context of the NSIS, this construct is tailored to intimate dyads, capturing the emotional longing for romantic devotion, reciprocal trust, and the reassuring presence of a committed partner.
• Need for Dominance (n Dominance / n Power): Murray defined n Dominance as the drive to control one's human environment; to influence or direct the behavior of others by suggestion, persuasion, or command; to dissuade, restrain, or dictate terms; and to induce others to act in accordance with one's will. In the sexual intimacy arena, the NSIS captures how power motives infiltrate romantic interactions, transforming intimacy into an arena of control, surveillance, and interpersonal manipulation.

Integration with Modern Motivational and Relational Theories

Beyond Murray's original personological taxonomy, the NSIS integrates principles from several foundational contemporary theories in psychology:

• McClelland's Acquired Needs Theory: David McClelland extended Murray's work by demonstrating that social motives (achievement, affiliation, and power) operate as implicit and explicit cognitive drivers that fundamentally structure social behavior. The NSIS reflects McClelland's conceptualization by showing how affiliation and power (dominance) actively compete with or amplify primary physical drives during relational interactions.
• Interdependence Theory and Social Exchange: Formulated by Harold Kelley and John Thibaut (Social Exchange Theory), this perspective posits that dyadic interactions represent matrices of rewards, costs, and power balances. The NSIS operationalizes these exchange dynamics: individuals high in Need for Affiliation seek emotional co-regulation and mutual rewards, whereas those elevated in Need for Dominance attempt to unilaterally control the dyadic outcome matrix through manipulation and coercion.
• Sexual Script Theory: Developed by John Gagnon and William Simon, sexual script theory asserts that human sexual behavior is governed by cultural, interpersonal, and intrapsychic scripts. The NSIS measures the intrapsychic component of these scripts, revealing the motivational priorities that dictate how an individual constructs, interprets, and executes their interpersonal sexual encounters.

Validity

The psychometric validity of the Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale has been thoroughly evaluated across multiple validation studies, demonstrating sound structural, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity.

Construct and Structural Validity

Construct validity was initially established through comprehensive exploratory factor analysis (EFA) utilizing principal axis factoring with oblique (Promax/Oblimin) rotation. The resulting pattern matrix confirmed that the 22 items cleanly partitioned into three non-orthogonal dimensions matching Murray's theoretical taxonomy: Need for Sex, Need for Affiliation, and Need for Dominance. Subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) conducted on independent validation samples demonstrated an acceptable-to-excellent fit for the hypothesized three-factor oblique model (e.g., Comparative Fit Index [CFI] > .90, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA] < .06). Furthermore, testing of a second-order hierarchical model revealed that the three latent first-order factors load significantly onto an overarching construct of Sexual Intimacy Motivation, validating both the multidimensional profiling of clients and the theoretical coherence of the scale as a unified assessment of intimate needs.

Criterion-Related and Predictive Validity

Criterion validity was rigorously assessed by examining how the three subscales predict objective sexual behaviors, relational attitudes, and health communication practices across a comprehensive battery of 21 behavioral markers:

• Behavioral Correlates of Need for Sex: High scores on Need for Sex exhibited strong, statistically significant positive correlations with lifetime number of sexual partners, frequency of one-night stands, and a self-reported preference for sexually dominating one's partner. From an epidemiological perspective, individuals with high Need for Sex demonstrated significantly lower rates of consistent condom use, elevated frequency of alcohol and drug intoxication prior to and during intercourse, heightened difficulty initiating conversations about safer sex, and a markedly higher propensity to deliberately misinform sexual partners regarding their HIV testing history. These individuals consistently rated sex as the single most critical pillar of any relationship.
• Behavioral Correlates of Need for Affiliation: High scores on Need for Affiliation predicted high relational fidelity, frequent cognitive preoccupation with one's partner, and an articulated psychological need for sustained romantic partnership. Regarding health communication, individuals high in affiliation were significantly more truthful when disclosing their past number of sexual partners, exhibited near-zero rates of lying about HIV testing status, and actively prioritized relationship maintenance over casual erotic opportunities.
• Behavioral Correlates of Need for Dominance: High scores on Need for Dominance were uniquely associated with coercive and controlling interpersonal behaviors. Elevated dominance scores predicted a clear preference for sexually dominating partners, decreased condom compliance, and a reduced likelihood of being deterred when a partner refused sexual intercourse in the absence of a condom (indicating boundary transgression and potential sexual coercion). Additionally, high-dominance individuals reported intrusive surveillance behaviors (e.g., demanding detailed accounting of a partner's past sexual history and real-time whereabouts) while maintaining that sex is an indispensable tool of relational control.

Known-Groups and Demographic Validity

Known-groups validity is evidenced by observed gender differences that align with evolutionary and social-role predictions in human sexuality:

• Gender Disparities in Need for Sex: Consistent with extensive cross-cultural literature on sociosexuality, men scored significantly higher on the Need for Sex subscale than women, reflecting higher self-reported desire for sexual frequency and partner variety.
• Gender Disparities in Need for Affiliation: Women scored significantly higher on the Need for Affiliation subscale compared to men, highlighting greater emphasis on relational closeness, emotional trust, and verbal intimacy.
• Invariance in Need for Dominance: Intriguingly, empirical analyses revealed no significant gender differences on the Need for Dominance subscale, indicating that the intrapsychic motivation to control, manipulate, or dominate an intimate partner is distributed equally across men and women, challenging historic assumptions that sexual dominance motives are exclusively male-typed phenomena.

Reliability

The reliability of the Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale has been evaluated using classical test theory metrics, specifically internal consistency and inter-factor stability.

Internal Consistency

Internal consistency reliabilities for the three NSIS subscales, evaluated via Cronbach's coefficient alpha ($lpha$), demonstrate robust psychometric precision across validation studies:

• Need for Sex Subscale: Cronbach's $lpha = .88$. This high coefficient indicates strong homogeneity among the 8 items measuring sexual urgency, orgasmic frequency, and erotic desire, confirming that the subscale reliably captures a single, focused motivational construct.
• Need for Affiliation Subscale: Cronbach's $lpha = .82$. Comprising 9 items (including one reverse-scored item), this alpha value exceeds standard thresholds for behavioral science research ($lpha ge .80$), indicating high internal consistency for measuring relational bonding and emotional connectedness.
• Need for Dominance Subscale: Cronbach's $lpha = .74$. For a compact 5-item scale measuring socially sensitive and power-laden attitudes, an alpha of .74 reflects acceptable and psychometrically defensible internal consistency, balancing measurement brevity with construct breadth.

Inter-Factor Correlations and Measurement Precision

Factor analysis revealed that the Need for Sex and Need for Dominance subscales correlate moderately at $r = .39$ ($p < .001$). This statistically significant positive correlation illustrates that erotic drives and power-seeking orientations frequently co-occur within individuals who adopt assertive, physicalized approaches to intimacy. However, the magnitude of the correlation confirms that sex and dominance share only approximately 15% common variance, establishing that they remain psychometrically distinct constructs rather than redundant markers of a single trait. Conversely, Need for Affiliation demonstrates near-orthogonal or weak correlations with dominance, demonstrating excellent discriminant validity between emotional bonding and interpersonal control.

While formal test-retest reliability statistics across extended temporal delays have not been published in initial psychometric papers, the scale items were explicitly formulated to capture enduring dispositional needs (Murrayan personological traits) rather than transient emotional states. Item-total correlations across all three subscales consistently exceed .40, with no single item removal improving the respective subscale alpha coefficients.

Factor Analysis

The latent dimensionality of the NSIS was rigorously developed and validated through a sequential, two-phase factor-analytic paradigm combining exploratory and confirmatory techniques.

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

The initial pool of candidate items was administered to diverse cohorts of young adults and college students. Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) was selected as the extraction method because its primary goal is uncovering underlying latent dimensions rather than merely maximizing variance explained (as in Principal Components Analysis). Because the underlying theoretical needs were hypothesized to interact within human personality, an oblique rotation (Promax or Oblimin) was executed, allowing the latent factors to correlate naturally.

• Dimensionality Determination: The number of factors to retain was determined through a rigorous tri-fold criterion: (1) Horn's Parallel Analysis comparing empirical eigenvalues against synthetic random data matrices, (2) visual inspection of Cattell's scree plot identifying the primary inflection break point, and (3) theoretical interpretability of the extracted factor solutions.
• Pattern Matrix Results: All 22 retained items displayed high, unambiguous pattern matrix loadings on their primary theoretical factor (loadings generally exceeding .45, with many exceeding .65), while cross-loadings on non-target factors remained low (typically < .25). The resulting three-factor structure accounted for a substantial portion of the total variance:
• Factor 1: Need for Sex: Comprising 8 items focusing on orgasmic necessity, high sexual frequency, and erotic prioritization.
• Factor 2: Need for Affiliation: Comprising 9 items emphasizing reciprocal love, friendship, holding hands, mutual trust, and life companionship.
• Factor 3: Need for Dominance: Comprising 5 items assessing surveillance, compliance demanding, material exploitation, and interpersonal control.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

To cross-validate the structural integrity obtained from the EFA, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on an independent, non-overlapping sample. Maximum likelihood estimation demonstrated that the three-factor first-order oblique model provided a good fit to the empirical data:

• The ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom ($\chi^2/df$) met acceptable psychometric benchmarks.
• Incremental fit indices, including the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), yielded values exceeding acceptable thresholds (> .90).
• Absolute fit indices, such as the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), yielded values below .06, accompanied by standard standardized root mean square residuals (SRMR) < .08.

Additionally, structural equation modeling evaluated a second-order hierarchical model wherein a global latent factor of Sexual Intimacy Motivation accounted for the covariance among the three primary needs. This second-order model demonstrated good fit, establishing that while each subscale provides vital granular information, the three dimensions collectively index an integrated psychological architecture of sexual intimacy motivation (Marelich & Lundquist, 2008).

Instrument / Measurement Tool

The following detailed parameters describe the operational administration, format, and scoring framework of the Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale:

• Test Type: Multidimensional, self-administered, objective self-report psychological rating scale.
• Format: Paper-and-pencil or computer-administered questionnaire. Respondents read 22 short statements and rate their personal level of felt need on an anchored numeric response continuum.
• Item Count: 22 items distributed across three subscales:
  • Need for Sex: 8 items (Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
  • Need for Affiliation: 9 items (Items 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17).
  • Need for Dominance: 5 items (Items 18, 19, 20, 21, 22).
• Response Scale: 5-point Likert-type scale with the following anchors:
  • 1 = Disagree Definitely
  • 2 = Disagree
  • 3 = Neutral / Undecided
  • 4 = Agree
  • 5 = Agree Definitely
• Administration Time: Approximately 5 minutes. Its brief administration time makes it highly suitable for incorporation into larger epidemiological surveys, clinical intake packets, or relationship assessment batteries.
• Target Population: Adults and emerging adults (college students and general community populations) involved in or seeking romantic/sexual partnerships.
• Item Presentation Rule: To mitigate response bias, halo effects, and demand characteristics, it is strongly recommended that the 22 items be administered in a randomized order, intermixing statements from all three subscales rather than presenting them in grouped categorical blocks.
• Scoring and Computational Rules:
  • Reverse Coding: Item 14 ("Nobody special in my life") is reverse coded prior to score calculation ($1
    ightarrow 5$, $2
    ightarrow 4$, $3
    ightarrow 3$, $4
    ightarrow 2$, $5
    ightarrow 1$).
  • Subscale Mean Scores: A separate mean score is computed for each of the three subscales by summing the item ratings belonging to that subscale and dividing by the total number of items in that subscale:
    • Need for Sex Mean Score: $( ext{Item } 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8) / 8$
    • Need for Affiliation Mean Score: $( ext{Item } 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + [14 ext{ Reversed}] + 15 + 16 + 17) / 9$
    • Need for Dominance Mean Score: $( ext{Item } 18 + 19 + 20 + 21 + 22) / 5$
  • Score Interpretation: Subscale mean scores range continuously from 1.00 to 5.00. Higher mean scores directly indicate a stronger psychological need within that specific motivational domain. Clinicians and researchers interpret individual profiles by examining relative elevations across the three distinct subscales (e.g., high affiliation paired with low dominance vs. high sex paired with high dominance).
  • Total Score Consideration: Although second-order confirmatory factor analyses confirm an overarching construct of general sexual intimacy motivation, the primary authors recommend relying on the three individual subscale scores for research and clinical purposes, as specific behavioral risks (such as unprotected intercourse or deception) map onto individual subscale elevations rather than a global composite score.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Need for Sexual Intimacy Scale was developed and refined through empirical studies conducted by William D. Marelich and colleagues, culminating in foundational psychometric publication in 2008 (Marelich & Lundquist, 2008). The scale is protected under standard academic copyright laws held by the authors and the original publisher (Taylor & Francis / International Journal of Sexual Health).

For non-commercial scientific research, academic dissertations, and non-profit public health educational purposes, the instrument is generally accessible for use. However, formal administrative protocol requires that researchers and clinicians contact the primary author, Dr. William D. Marelich ([email protected]), Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, to request written permission, obtain the most current administration guidelines, and ensure proper citation of the scale in forthcoming publications. Commercial utilization, integration into proprietary diagnostic software, or corporate clinical platforms requires direct formal licensing agreements with the copyright holders.

References

• Gagnon, J. H., & Simon, W. (1973). Sexual conduct: The social sources of human sexuality. Aldine Publishing Company.
• Kelley, H. H., & Thibaut, J. W. (1978). Interpersonal relations: A theory of interdependence. John Wiley & Sons.
• Marelich, W. D., & Lundquist, J. (2008). Motivations for sexual intimacy: Development of a needs-based sexual intimacy scale. International Journal of Sexual Health, 20(3), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317610802240154
• Marelich, W. D., Lundquist, J., & Shelton, E. (2008). Sexual intimacy needs, condom use, and HIV deception: Applying Murray's personological framework to sexual health. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(11), 2735–2752. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00411.x
• McClelland, D. C. (1987). Human motivation. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139878289
• Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality: A clinical and experimental study of fifty men of college age. Oxford University Press.
• Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (1991). Individual differences in sociosexuality: Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(6), 870–883. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.6.870

Items of the Scale