Development and validation of a measure of attitudes toward sex doll ownership

Harper, CA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3172-0129, Lievesley, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4957-258X, Woodward, E, Wilson, R, Stubbs, L, Boneham, C and Norton-Clarke, E, 2025. Development and validation of a measure of attitudes toward sex doll ownership. Psychology and Sexuality. ISSN 1941-9899 (Forthcoming)

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Abstract

Sex dolls are beginning to become more mainstream, both in the public’s consciousness and in academic research. However, there is no current systematic examination of public attitudes toward sex dolls within the peer-reviewed literature, which represents a barrier to the efficient study of this topic. In this paper, we report the development and validation of such a measure. Using an international public sample, we found that Sex Doll Ownership Attitudes Scale (SDOAS) was underpinned by three factors: ‘Acceptability of Doll Ownership’, ‘Doll Owners as Immoral’, and ‘Doll Owners as Dysfunctional’ (Study 1; N = 377). Scores on each of these factors were predicted by participant sex, religiosity, permissive sexual attitudes, right-wing authoritarianism, and moral intuitions that favor personal liberty. This structure was confirmed in an independent UK sample, where links to policy support related to sex doll ownership were also established (Study 2; N = 329). We also demonstrated how the SDOAS can be used as an outcome measure when investigating views about dolls with different appearances and functions (Study 3; N = 292). We argue that the SDOAS possesses strong psychometric properties, and is suitable for use in different research designs in this emerging field of study.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Psychology and Sexuality
Creators:	Harper, C.A., Lievesley, R., Woodward, E., Wilson, R., Stubbs, L., Boneham, C. and Norton-Clarke, E.
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Date:	30 April 2025
ISSN:	1941-9899
Identifiers:	Number Type 2434404 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	06 May 2025 09:16
Last Modified:	06 May 2025 09:16
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53522

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