Abstract
<jats:p>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 Scale (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 ICS and ECS, alongside measures of relationship characteristics and sociodemographic 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. All factors demonstrated good internal consistency (α ≥ .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. Conclusion: 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.</jats:p>