AIDSQuest: The HIV/AIDS Survey Library
Survey Summaries

Pulerwitz, Gortmaker, and DeJong—Sexual Relationship Power Scale

Overview
The Sexual Relationship Power Scale (SRPS) was developed by Pulerwitz, Gortmaker, and DeJong to measure power in sexual relationships and to investigate the role of relationship power in sexual decisionmaking and HIV risk. The SRPS contains two subscales that address two conceptual dimensions of relationship power: Relationship Control and Decisionmaking Dominance. Among others, the scale includes questions about control over decisionmaking, commitment to the relationship, condom negotiation ability, and freedom of action within the relationship. Most items use a four-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” 

Methodology/validity
Six focus groups with women were conducted to generate items for the scale. Both Spanish and English versions of the scale were developed. The SRPS was administered to a census of women (n = 388) at a community health clinic in the United States. All respondents had a primary male partner, the majority were Latina and African-American, and their mean age was 27 years old. Factor analyses were conducted to determine the subscales. The SRPS possesses good internal reliability (coefficient alpha = .84 for English version, .88 for Spanish version) and predictive and construct validity. The two subscales are sufficiently reliable to use independently or in conjunction with one another. Women who reported low levels of relationship power were more likely to report experiences of partner violence and less likely to report consistent condom use.

For additional information on the Sexual Relationship Power Scale, see Pulerwitz, Gortmaker, and DeJong. 2000. "Measuring sexual relationship power in HIV/STD research," Sex Roles 42(7/8): 637–660.

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This page updated 21 August 2006

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