Validation of French Versions of the Internal and External Sexual Consent Scales: Associations with Sociodemographic and Intimate Relationship Variables

Introduction: Sexual consent is a multidimensional construct involving both internal willingness and external communication, yet validated French-language instruments assessing these dimensions remain scarce. Objective: This study aimed to validate French versions of the Internal and External Consent Scales (IECS-FV) and examine their associations with sociodemographic and intimate relationship variables. Methods: A sample of 649 French-speaking emerging adults (18–25 years) completed translated versions of the Internal Consent Scale (ICS-FV) and External Consent Scale (ECS-FV), alongside measures of sociodemographic characteristics and intimate relationship factors. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), gender invariance testing, reliability analyses, ANOVAs, and correlational analyses were conducted. Results: The revised ICS-FV demonstrated excellent psychometric properties with a 19-item four-factor structure: physical response/arousal, agreement/wantedness, safety/comfort, and readiness. The ECS-FV showed satisfactory psychometric properties with a refined 15-item five-factor structure: non-verbal behavior, passive behavior, communicative/initiator behavior, borderline pressure, and non-response signals. Almost all factors demonstrated good internal consistency (α ≥ 0.70). Gender invariance was supported for the ECS-FV but not for the ICS-FV. Positive internal and external consent dimensions were significantly associated with higher sexual satisfaction, romantic relationship satisfaction, sexual frequency, and relationship commitment; whereas non-response and passive behaviors were linked to less favorable outcomes. Conclusions: The French versions of the IECS-FV are reliable and valid tools for assessing multidimensional sexual consent in French-speaking emerging adults. These instruments offer valuable resources for research, prevention, and clinical interventions targeting sexual health, relational functioning, and sexual violence prevention.