In the realm of human sexuality, researchers have long grappled with how to accurately capture the complexities of non-normative sexual practices, often referred to under the umbrella of “kink.” Now, a team of scientists has developed and validated a new tool designed to measure various aspects of kink engagement — the Kink Orientation Scale. The study detailing this work was recently published in The Journal of Sex Research.
Kink encompasses a wide range of sexual practices that fall outside of what many consider “normative” sexual activities. These practices can include power dynamics, the exchange of control, the infliction or reception of pain, and the use of specialized gear or objects to enhance sensory experiences. Kink is not limited to a specific set of activities but rather spans a spectrum that individuals might explore alone or with others.
Despite its long history and increasing visibility in modern culture, kink remains a subject that is often misunderstood or stigmatized. The term “kinky” is sometimes used as a label for people who engage in these practices, but it also can refer to desires and fantasies that may never be acted upon.
Given the diverse ways people experience kink — whether as a deeply ingrained identity, a set of occasional practices, or a source of personal fantasy — a team of researchers led by Liam Wignall of the University of Brighton recognized a gap in how kink was studied. Previous research often relied on self-identified members of kink communities, which tended to overlook the broader population that might engage in or be interested in kink without necessarily identifying as “kinky.”
This focus on community members resulted in a limited understanding of kink, as it missed those who might participate in kink privately or who have kink-related desires but do not engage with a kink community.
“My research explores how people engage in kink in different ways, as an activity, identity, or behavior,” Wignall told PsyPost. “Previous studies have overrepresented people who identify as kinky, missing out the key voices of people who practice kink, but not community (or the social aspects) — I discuss this more in my book, Kinky in the Digital Age. I wanted to develop a measure that allowed research to identify and potentially recruit other people who could take part in research on kink.”
“Alongside this, the Kink Orientation Scale allows for more sophisticated analyses to be done in kink research. Rather than considering kink as a binary (you’re either kinky or not), we can now think of kink as a continuum and see how it correlates with other variables.”
The development of the Kink Orientation Scale followed a rigorous, multi-phase methodology aimed at creating a reliable and valid tool to measure various aspects of kink engagement. The researchers began by compiling an initial list of 36 questions, which were designed to explore different dimensions of kink, including attitudes, practices, desires, and identity. These questions drew inspiration from existing scales used to measure other aspects of sexuality, such as the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, which examines similar components in the context of casual sex.
To ensure the clarity and relevance of these questions, the researchers conducted two focus groups. One group consisted of undergraduate psychology students who indicated no particular interest in kink, while the other included self-identified kinky individuals. The purpose of these focus groups was to verify that participants from different backgrounds understood the questions in a similar way, thereby supporting the scale’s construct validity. Based on feedback from these discussions, the researchers refined the scale, ultimately reducing it to 27 questions. These items were presented on a seven-point Likert scale, allowing participants to express varying degrees of agreement or disagreement with each statement.
The next phase involved administering the preliminary 27-item Kink Orientation Scale to a sample of 200 university students. The survey, which was presented as a general study on sexual behavior and attitudes, took about 10 minutes to complete. To avoid biasing the participants’ responses, they were not informed that the survey was specifically about kink. After collecting the data, the researchers conducted exploratory factor analysis to examine the underlying structure of the scale. Through this analysis, they identified and removed seven items that either did not fit well with the rest of the scale or loaded onto multiple factors, leaving an 18-item scale with five distinct factors.
These five factors were labeled as kink identity, kink paraphernalia, kink community, kink practices, and sexual communication. Each factor represented a different facet of kink engagement. For instance, “kink identity” included items related to how participants saw themselves and were perceived by others in relation to kink, while “kink paraphernalia” focused on the use and importance of sex-related items. “Kink community” captured involvement with others who share similar sexual interests, “kink practices” encompassed specific sexual behaviors and the dynamics within them, and “sexual communication” addressed how participants discussed and negotiated their sexual activities.
“We developed the scale based on the previous literature and other validated scales in the area, expecting ‘identity, behaviors, desires’ as the main components. We were surprised that five factors developed in the end, further evidencing that kink is a nebulous construct,” Wignall explained.
To further validate the scale, the researchers then tested it on a larger, kink-focused sample of over 1,000 individuals recruited through an online kink community. For this phase, the Kink Orientation Scale was slightly modified, reducing the Likert scale from seven points to five, in order to simplify the data collection and analysis process. The factor structure identified in the initial phase was largely confirmed, although some slight adjustments were made to the grouping of items.
The final Kink Orientation Scale is a concise, 18-item scale that successfully captures a broad range of kink-related experiences and orientations. Its development marks a significant step forward in kink research, offering a tool that can be used not only to explore the diversity of kink practices and identities but also to examine how these intersect with other aspects of sexuality and personal identity. By moving beyond simple identity measures and capturing a wider spectrum of kink engagement, the Kink Orientation Scale provides researchers with a more nuanced and inclusive way to study this complex aspect of human sexuality.
“Kink is a complex concept – it’s an activity, lifestyle, behavior, culture, attitude – and we now have a validated measure to measure it,” Wignall said, noting that “this will only be the first iteration of the scale, and further research is needed to refine it. The long-term goal for the project is to administer and validate the Kink Orientation Scale in other samples, in the hopes of further refining it. We also hope that future research recognizes the utility of the Kink Orientation Scale and is able to explore more sophisticated questions about kink.”
Take the Kink Orientation Scale Below (or at theKinkScale.com)
The findings and interpretations presented in this article are based on a specific study focused on the development and validation of the Kink Orientation Scale. The scale is designed for research purposes and is not intended to diagnose or label individuals. The discussion of kink in this article is intended for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement or promotion of any specific sexual practices. As always, personal sexual behaviors should be consensual and safe, respecting all parties involved.
The study, “The Kink Orientation Scale: Developing and Validating a Measure of Kink Desire, Practice, and Identity,” was authored by Liam Wignall, Mark McCormack, Tom Carpino, Rebecca Owens, and Thomas Barton.