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informed by the Reactions to Homosexuality Scale (RHS) and the contention that currently available measures of IH were outdated in their assessment of the construct and/or failed to assess its covert manifestations.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.
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411-423.
2.
Brown, L. S. (1987). Lesbians’weight and eating: Newanalysis and perspectives. In Boston Lesbians Psychologies Collective (Ed.), Lesbian psychologies: Explorations and challenges. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
3.
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
Byrne, B. M., Baron, P., & Balev, J. (1998). The Beck Depression Inventory: A cross-validated test of second-order factorial structure for Bulgarian adolescents. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58, 241-251.
5.
Cornett, C. (1993). Dynamic psychotherapy of gay men: A view from self psychology. In C. Cornett (Ed.), Affirmative dynamic psychotherapy with gay men (pp. 45-76). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
6.
Fassinger, R. E.,& Miller, B. A. (1996). Validation of an inclusive model of sexual minority identity formation on a sample of gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 32(2), 53-78.
7.
Finnegan, D. G., & Cook, D. (1984). Special issues affecting the treatment of male and lesbian alcoholics. Alcoholics Treatment Quarterly, 1, 85-98.
8.
Friedman, R. C. (1991). Couple therapy with gay couples. Psychiatric Annals, 21, 485-490.
9.
Glaus, O. K. (1988). Alcoholism, chemical dependency, and the lesbian client. Women and Therapy, 8, 131-144.
10.
Gerbing, D. W.,& Hamilton, J. G. (1996). Viability of exploratory factor analysis as a precursor to confirmatory factor analysis. Structural Equation Modeling, 3, 62-72.
11.
Gonsiorek, J. C. (1995). Gay male identities: Concepts and issues. In A. R. D’Augelli & C. J. Patterson (Eds.), Lesbian, gay and bisexual identities over the lifespan: Psychological perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
12.
Henson, R. K., Capraro, R. M., & Capraro, M. M. (2001, November). Reporting practices and use of exploratory factor analyses in educational research journals. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Little Rock, AR.
13.
Henson, R. K., & Roberts, J. K. (2001, February). A meta-analytic review of exploratory factor analysis reporting practices in published research. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southwest Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 449 227)
14.
Kline, R. B. (1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
15.
Malyon, A. K. (1982). Psychotherapeutic implications of internalized homophobia in gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 7, 59-69.
16.
Margolies, L., Becker, M., & Jackson-Brewer, K., (1987). Internalized homophobia: Identifying and treating the oppressor within. In Boston Lesbians Psychologies Collective (Ed.), Lesbian psychologies: Explorations and challenges (pp. 229-241). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
17.
Mayfield, W. (2001). The development of an internalized homonegativity inventory for gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 41(2), 53-76.
18.
Meyer, I. H. (1995). Minority stress and mental health in gay men. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 38-56.
19.
Nicholson, W. D., & Long, B. C. (1990). Self-esteem, social support, internalized homophobia, and coping strategies of HIV+ gay men. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58(6), 873-876.
20.
Nungesser, G. (1983). Homosexual acts, actors, and identities. New York: Praeger.
21.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory(2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
22.
Otis, M. D., & Skinner, W. F. (1996). The prevalence of victimization and its effect on mental well-being among lesbian and gay people. Journal of Homosexuality, 30(3), 93-121.
23.
Ratti, R., Bakeman, R.,& Peterson, J. L. (2000). Correlates of high-risk sexual behaviour among Canadian men of South Asian and European origin who have sex with men. AIDS Care, 12, 193-203.
24.
Ross, M. W., & Rosser, S. B. R. (1996). Measurement and correlates of internalized homophobia: A factor analytic study. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 52(1), 15-21.
25.
Shidlo, A. (1994). Internalized homophobia: Conceptual and empirical issues in measurement. In B. Greene& G. M. Herek (Eds.), Lesbian and gay psychology: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 176-205). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
26.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics(3rd ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
27.
Thompson, B. (1997). The importance of structure coefficients in structural equation modeling confirmatory factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57, 5-19.
28.
Thompson, B., & Daniel, L. G. (1996). Factor analytic evidence for the construct validity of scores: A historical overview and some guidelines. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 56, 197-208.
