14 DAY TRIAL // You can be a sexual maniac, a hidden pervert, a sado-masochist or a serial sex killer and not even know it! Now, that's solved: here comes the Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory.
It is the result of over a decade of research and observations made by a Texas Tech psychologist. Sheila Garos has gathered 70 sex questions in order to make a test that can enable more precisely the diagnosis of sexual issues, and even addictive and compulsive behavior in the case of all patients. Garos is an associate professor of psychology and director of the Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program at Texas Tech, whose main interest focuses on the sex and couples therapy.
"The test measures mental conflict and shame about one's sexual activities or sexuality, sexual obsession, values about sexual issues and comfort with sexual arousal," said Garos.
The Garos Sexual Behavior Inventory has been published by Western Psychological Services, a company specialized in psychology-oriented books, software and therapy tools. Garos warns that the test cannot be the only element when determining diagnoses, but it could be highly effective in uncovering issues like sexual disorders, dysfunctions or compulsive sexual behaviors, a domain which is sensitive and at the same time very difficult to assess.
The most important aspect is that the test is universal, and it can be applied also to (apparently) mentally healthy people, not targeting specifically problem categories.
"I think what sets this test apart is that it's not targeted at one single group. This test is not restricted for use with any one clinical group, such as people with sexual dysfunctions or sex offenders. The GSBI was normed on the general population. As a result, it has a greater clinical utility. It can tell you if you have a client that you should investigate more thoroughly with regard to his or her sexual behavior," said Garos.