Internalized Homonegativity Scale Research Articles

Psychometric Properties of the Internalized Homonegativity Scale in Adults

The main objective was to know the evidence of validity and reliability of the Internalized Homonegativity Scale. This theory is based on the stress of sexual minorities, which focuses on the psychological affectations of minority groups based on discrimination, prejudice and stigma. A total of 313 persons between the ages of 18 and 49 years were evaluated. The content validity, factor analysis and reliability were assessed. The content validity, to which it was subjected, yielded acceptable values. The CFA allowed maintaining the trifactorial structure and a McDonald coefficient of .84 was obtained for the general scale. Likewise, the Wagnild & Young Resilience Scale was used to determine the validity in relation to other variables and presents an inverse relationship of small magnitude. The study shows that the IHS has adequate psychometric properties, evidencing its usefulness for the measurement of internalized homonegativity. Received: 4 January 2024 / Accepted: 21 June 2024 / Published: 02 July 2024

Exploring Biphobia Among Heterosexuals and LGBTQ + Individuals in Spain: Psychometric Properties of the Biphobia Scale in a Spanish Sample

Self-reported questionnaires for assessing biphobia have been developed and validated in English-speaking countries. In Spain, despite considerable rates of biphobia, there is a lack of validated instruments to assess this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Biphobia Scale (BS), a useful self-reported measure of biphobia. Four hundred and sixty-six participants from the general population in Spain completed the BS, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, the Modern Homophobia Scale, and the Internalized Homonegativity Scale. The factorial structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity were analyzed. The results of the factor analysis support a one-factor solution. Cronbach’s alpha and Omega coefficient were .95 and .96, respectively. Evidence of convergent validity was provided, as shown by the significant and positive correlations between biphobia, sexism, homophobia, and internalized homonegativity. The results support the use of the BS in the Spanish population as a valid and reliable measure.

Unpacking the Internalized Homonegativity-Health Relationship: How the Measurement of Internalized Homonegativity and Health Matter and the Contribution of Religiousness.

Internalized homonegativity (IH) is widely recognized to negatively influence the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning (LGBQ +) individuals. It is not clear, however, the role that religiousness may play in the relationship between IH and health or how differing conceptualizations of IH or health may influence this relationship. We conducted a multi-level meta-analysis of 151 effect sizes from 68 studies to examine the relationship between IH and health as well as what may moderate this relationship. Results suggested that IH was consistently and negatively related to health (r = - .28). Analyses suggest that IH was most strongly related to mental health and well-being, evidencing a relatively weaker (though still negative) relationship with physical or sexual health. Analyses of different ways to measure IH suggest that scales that conceptualize IH to include distress (e.g., the Internalized Homonegativity Inventory) report stronger relationships with health than scales that conceptualize IH orthogonally from distress (e.g., the Internalized Homonegativity scale of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Identity Salience Scale [LGBIS]). We failed to find significant moderation effects for religiousness, though it was hard to evaluate this relationship due to the poor quality of most measures of religiousness. We encourage researchers to use measures of IH that conceptualize IH orthogonally from distress (e.g., the LGBIS) and to use more nuanced measures of religiousness (e.g., religious belief, religious activity). We also encourage researchers to focus on how IH impacts less-often studied measures of health (e.g., physical health, suicidality).

Chemsex users in Czechia: EMIS survey.

Chemsex is a phenomenon highly relevant to public health concerns. Our primary aim is to describe the Czech chemsex scene regarding substances used, sexual behaviour, mental health, sexual life satisfaction, internalization of homonegative attitudes, and prevalent chemsex patterns. The data from the European Men Who Have Sex With Men Internet Survey (EMIS) 2017 were used. The mental health of chemsex users was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ4), internalized homonegativity was measured using the Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale. A sample of 87 men who have sex with men (MSM) chemsex users and a comparison group of 261 MSM were selected from the total sample of 1,688 respondents. Mann-Whitney and χ2 tests were used to compare groups. Active chemsex users made up 5% of the sample (87 of 1,688), with an average age of 37 years. Chemsex users were more likely to engage in condomless sex with non-steady partners (χ2 = 46.8, p < 0.001), and had dramatically more STIs, such as HIV (χ2 = 52.9, p < 0.001), HCV (χ2 = 25.9, p < 0.001), and syphilis (χ2 = 41.5, p < 0.001). Chemsex users frequently injected drugs (n = 19, 20%). More than half (n = 48; 55%) of chemsex users had sober sex in the last 4 weeks. Chemsex culture was associated with riskier substance use, both in terms of mode and frequency. The mental health of chemsex users in our sample did not differ significantly from the comparison group (χ2 = 0.2, p < 0.7). Chemsex users did not conceal their sexual identity more often than the comparison group, on the contrary, 69% (n = 59) of them were out to most significant others, compared to 53% (n = 134) in the comparison group (χ2 = 8.8, p < 0.05). In addition, we did not find differences in the degree of internalized homonegativity (χ2 = 0.9, p < 0.4). Chemsex users were clearly and significantly more satisfied with their sex life than the comparison group (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.001). In our sample, chemsex use was not associated with a negative impact on health or wellbeing. Our results suggest that chemsex is not a homogeneous phenomenon. Many different patterns and subcultures exist, some of them are riskier, some safer than others.

English

The purpose of this instrumental research was to expand the Internalized Homonegativity Scale to assess a new factor, the fear of being identified as a non-heterosexual person, and to validate the new instrument. A questionnaire was applied to an incidental sample of 200 medical students from a private university in Monterrey, Mexico. This questionnaire was composed of four items about socio-demographic information, one is about self-defined sexual orientation, 16-item Internalized Homonegativity Scale (plus five items to assess the new factor), Attitude Towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, and Kinsey’s Sexual Orientation Scale. The overall internal consistency was excellent. Upon removing two items, a four-factor model was reproduced through exploratory factor analysis; the goodness of fit was good. The four factors showed evidence of internal consistency and discriminant validity. The IHN-21 total score followed a normal distribution and its mean was higher among men than among women. IHN-21 had negative correlation with age and sexual orientation, and positive correlation with attitude of rejection towards gay men and lesbians. It is concluded that the scale shows internal consistency and reliability and construct validity. Key words: Homonegativity, attitude, sexual orientation, factor analysis, psychometrics.

Internal homonegativity among men having sex with men: a comparative cross-national study

The paper studies internalized homonegativity (IH) and its predictors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in 12 countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). Internalized homonegativity (sometimes called internal homophobia) is a negative attitude to own same-sex attractions. It arises when gays and other people with homosexual attractions interiorize predominant negative attitudes and assumptions about homosexuals and homosexuality. Internalized homonegativity is a significant factor of poorer health (including vulnerability to HIV infection), and lower inclusion in the community in Western countries. It remains highly understudied in post-Soviet countries, although there is a sufficient ground to suppose its higher prevalence here. Cross-sectional online survey of MSM was conducted in August–October, 2017. Convenience sample was recruited via dating apps and websites, other partner sites, and MSM-service organizations. Analytical sample size was 8239 respondents from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Estonia and Lithuania (which were merged), Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, and Moldova. IH was measured by the 8-item Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale (SIHS) in all main languages of the countries. According to results of Cronbach’s a test and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, adaptation of SIHS showed satisfactory to good reliability, and partial scalar invariance across EECA. IH was not predominant in all countries’ samples. However, average IH was significantly different by countries. That could be attributed to both sampling design and differences in societal homophobia. Results of structural equation modeling of SIHS predictors also varied between countries. However, in most countries IH was lower among self-identified gays, those who were more open about own homosexual attractions, and was less religious. The unexpected findings included negative associations between IH and higher education, and contradictory associations with age in some countries. Results showed that internalized homonegativity is a common and comparable phenomenon among MSM in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Its prevalence is presumably different across the countries. IH relates, first of all, to own sexual orientation (gay, bi- etc.), and acknowledgement of own same-sex attractions. Also, the SIHS measure is good enough for use in further studies of male health and possibilities for LGBTIQ mobilization in the region.

Structural Validation and Multiple Group Assessment of the Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale in Homosexual and Bisexual Men in 38 European Countries: Results From the European MSM Internet Survey

Internalized homonegativity (IH) is the internalization of negative attitudes and assumptions about homosexual people by homosexual people themselves. To measure IH, Smolenski, Diamond, Ross, and Rosser (2010) and Ross, Rosser, and Smolenski (2010) revised the Reactions to Homosexuality Scale (RHS) to develop the Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale (SIHS) with eight items. Using the European Men Who Have Sex With Men Internet Survey (EMIS) data, with an analytic sample of 130,718 gay and bisexual men in 38 European countries, we confirmed the validity of the SIHS scale in both training and validation data, in strata of Ross, Berg, et al.’s (2013) three “homosexual discrimination” country clusters, of age, and of education level. However, the performance was less adequate in comparison of gay versus bisexually identified individuals. The latent SIHS structure contains only minor variations across these three strata. The seven-item scale performed as well as the eight-item scale. The SIHS is a promising candidate for standard IH measures, which is invariant across cultural, age, and educational strata.

Spanish Adaptation and Validation of the Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale (SIHS)

Internalized homophobia has been related to mental health problems and sexual risk behaviors among nonheterosexual people. This article validates the Spanish adaptation of the Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale (SIHS). For this purpose, 347 men and 183 women completed the instrument. Exploratory factorial analysis showed three factors: public identification as homosexual (PIH), sexual comfort with homosexual people (SEXC), and social comfort with homosexual people (SOCC). These factors explained 57.96% of total variance. In addition, confirmatory factorial analysis supported this structure and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was.80 for the full scale. The three subscales ranged from.70 to.79. Convergent validity showed a positive correlation between the SIHS and depressive symptoms, and negative correlation with condom use, self-esteem, and having sex after alcohol consumption. In conclusion, the SIHS could be an accurate instrument to evaluate internalized homophobia among the Spanish population.

Variables related to sexual prejudice among Mexican health science students

BackgroundThe stigmatization and discrimination of non-heterosexual persons is a reality in some institutions of the Health Services, and among health sciences students. ObjectivesTo describe and predict the level of sexual prejudice in health sciences students, taking into account a set of qualitative and numerical variables on socio-demographic data, sexual life, social life, university (private or public) the student's major (medicine or psychology), and clinical aspects. MethodologyA socio-demographic and life-history data questionnaire, an 8-item homophobia scale and a 16-item internalized homonegativity scale were applied to a non-probabilistic sample composed of 231 health sciences students. The predictive models were estimated by analyses of multinomial and ordinal regression. ResultsTwelve percent of participants exhibited an attitude of open rejection towards non-heterosexual persons (including 0.9% who exhibited extreme rejection). Non-heterosexual orientation, having non-heterosexual friends and acceptance of one's own homosexual desires were variables associated with lower levels of open rejection towards non-heterosexual persons. Only the two latter variables were significant predictive variables; they explained 21% of the variance in the ordinal regression model and 27% in the multinomial regression model. The percentage of the correct classification of cases of acceptance was high but the percentage of the correct classification of cases of rejection was low. ConclusionThe level of open rejection towards non-heterosexual persons is low. An exclusively heterosexual identity, affirming not to share aspects of the sexual sphere and not having personal contact with the stigmatized subject are determinants of open rejection. There exist other variables that were not taken into account in this study, as is deduced by the high percentage of unexplained variance.

Contraste de una estructura trifactorial para escala de actitudes hacia lesbianas y hombres homosexuales (ATLG)

Este artículo tiene como objetivos contrastar el modelo tridimensional de Moral y Valle (2011), para la escala ATLG y aportar pruebas de su validez. Se aplicaron las escalas ATLG (Herek, 1984), de homonegatividad internalizada (HNI-16; Moral &amp; Valle, 2013) y homofobia (HFK-10; Klamen, Grossman, &amp; Kopacz, 1999) a una muestra no probabilística de 231 estudiantes mexicanos de Ciencias de la Salud (121 mujeres y 103 hombres). Se contrastaron tres modelos por Mínimos Cuadrados Generalizados (GLS): de un factor, dos factores correlacionados y tres factores jerarquizados a uno general. Los modelos de dos factores correlacionados y de tres factores jerarquizados tuvieron una bondad de ajuste equivalente y significativamente mayor que la del modelo unidimensional. No obstante, los datos reflejaron unidimensionalidad con base en tres argumentos: 1) los valores de correlación y coeficientes de regresión de los factores de primer orden fueron muy altos; 2) el análisis paralelo de Horn indicó que el número de factores es uno, por lo que la varianza explicada por un segundo o tercer factor se debería al azar; y 3) la bondad de ajuste del modelo unidimensional fue aceptable y muy semejante a la de los otros dos modelos. Las correlaciones de la puntuación total de la ATLG con las de HNI-16 y HFK-10 fueron altas y significativas. La orientación sexual autodefinida y tener amigos homosexuales tuvieron un efecto mediano sobre la ATLG. Se concluye que la ATLG es unidimensional y posee evidencias de validez. Se sugiere una forma simplificada de 5 ítems.

Modelos Predictivos de Homonegatividad Internalizada en Estudiantes de Ciencias de la Salud

The aims of this paper were to describe and predict the level of internalized homonegativity, considering variables on socio-demographic data, sexual life, social life, and clinic aspects. An interview questionnaire and the Internalized Homonegativity Scale were applied to a non-probability sample of 231 students of health sciences; 121 were women and 103 men. Ordinal regression models were calculated._Low internalized homonegativity was found in 38% of participants, ambiguity in 45%, and rejection in 17%. The HNI-16 total score correlated with sexual orientation, religion, and having gay friends. The factor of rejection toward the public manifestation of homosexuality correlated with having gay friends, gender, self-defined sexual orientation, religion, and number of sexual partners. The factor of rejection toward own homosexual feelings, desires, and identity correlated with self-defined sexual orientation, religion, number of sexual partners, and sexually active years. The factor related to the qualification of homosexual persons as promiscuous persons correlated with self-defined sexual orientation, having started couple sexual life, religion, and sexually active years. The variables that predicted lower internalized homonegativity were non-heterosexual orientation, religious adscription different from Christian and Catholic, and having gay friends. Additionally, female gender predicted greater acceptance toward the public manifestation of homosexuality, and having started couple sexual life predicted greater stigmatization of homosexuals as promiscuous persons. It is discussed that in these relationships are involved aspects of congruence with constructed personal identity, positive experience with the stigmatized object, and a cultural attitude that stigmatizes male homosexuality more than female homosexuality. Among these university students, once they have started their couple sexual life, their greater certainty on the opinion of that homosexual persons are promiscuous and incapable of intimacy might respond to a projective defense mechanism triggered by heterosexist values, which put sexuality at the service of reproduction and parenting, and not at the service of experimentation and pleasure. It is concluded that the rejection level is considerable, and thus it is suggested working on these variables in the workshops of acceptance toward sexual diversity.

Dimensionalidad, Consistencia Interna y Distribución de la Escala Homonegatividad Internalizada en Estudiantes Mexicanos de Ciencias de la Salud

The aims of this article were to study the internal consistency, factor structure, distribution and sex differences in averages of the Internalized Homonegativity scale (IHN; Currie, Cunningham, & Findlay, 2004) extended to a total of 17 items (IHN-17). The IHN-17 scale was applied to a non-probability sample of 231 health sciences college students from northeastern Mexico (121 women and 103 men). An item was removed due to problems of internal consistency and low factor loading. The internal consistency was high with the remaining 16 items (α = .88). A model of three low-order factors (public display of homosexuality, α = .81; internal acceptance of homosexual desire, α = .81, and promiscuity, α = .69) nested in a general factor had a fit to the data from good to adequate by generalized least squares, and was invariant between both sexes. The IHN-16 total score followed a normal distribution, and men averaged higher than women, although the difference was statically significant only in the factor of public display. It is concluded that IHN-16 scale with its hierarchical model has higher consistency and more content validity than the original one. Its use and study are suggested in Mexico.

Measurement of internalized homonegativity in gay and bisexual men in Uganda: Cross-cultural properties of the Internalized Homonegativity scale

Internalized homonegativity (IH) measures the internalization of homophobia in gay and bisexual men. We obtained data on Ross and Rosser's 26-item IH scale from 216 gay and bisexual men in Kampala, Uganda and used confirmatory factor analysis to compare the structure of the Ugandan responses to those of a large US sample of gay and bisexual men. The data indicated that the structure of a reduced 8-item version of the scale was closely matched between the US and Ugandan samples. The three factors that consistently emerged were personal comfort with being gay; social comfort with other gay people; and public identification as being gay. Men who experienced violence or abuse for being gay had significantly higher scores on the personal discomfort with being gay subscale. These data indicate that the structure of IH in gay and bisexual men in East Africa is congruent with that in equivalent western samples and that the IH scale is cross-culturally robust.

The Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale: Examination of the Factorial Structure of a New Measure of Internalized Homophobia

The purpose of the study was to develop a short measure of internalized homophobia (IH), one that reflected contemporary attitudes toward homosexuality and included items designed to assess the domain of sexual comfort with gay men, a domain that has been notably absent from other measures of IH. The Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale (SIHS) was informed by the Reactions to Homosexuality Scale (RHS) and the contention that currently available measures of IH were outdated in their assessment of the construct and/or failed to assess its covert manifestations. A geographically diverse sample of gay men completed an online questionnaire ( N = 1,307), and the 677 respondents from the United States formed the sample for the study. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a single higher order construct of IH comprising the lower order factors of Public Identification as Gay, Sexual Comfort With Gay Men, and Social Comfort With Gay Men.