Validation of the attitude towards sexuality scale in two samples of university students

Abstract

There exists a scale, developed in Mexico, aimed to measure attitude towards sexuality. Good metric properties have been reported for this scale, but there have been no studies aimed at corroborating those observations. This study aims to verify the validity, as well as the invariance between two samples, of the three-factor model originally proposed for the scale, to estimate its internal consistency reliability, to describe its distribution, and to verify its concurrent validity in relation to the attitude towards homosexuality. Two incidental samples of 402 psychology students and 198 medical students were recruited. The Attitude towards Sexuality Scale (ASS-20) was applied to both samples. Likewise, the attitude towards homosexuality scale was also applied to the psychology students, whereas the factor of subtle rejection towards gay men, taken from the Mexican adaptation of Herek's Attitude towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, was applied to medical students. Single-factor, correlated-factor, hierarchical, and bifactor models were tested. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the correlated-factor model had the best data fit as well as convergent and discriminant validity properties in both samples, although it was not invariant. The internal consistency of the scale was good. The total scores in ASS-20 followed a normal distribution and their average showed a liberal attitude with no difference between both samples. The correlation of ASS-20 with the two scales of attitude towards homosexuality was medium. It is concluded that AAS-20 shows internal consistency reliability, structural validity, and concurrent validity in relation to attitude towards homosexuality. Key words: Attitude, sexuality, homosexuality, psychometrics, students.