of such items in previous instruments has made it difficult to disentangle the antecedents and outcomes of inter-
nalized homonegativity from the construct itself. Interestingly, the very high correlation between the IHNI and
Nungesser’s (1983) measure suggests that the two measures assess closely related constructs. The unexpected
emergence of a factor assessing positive attitudes suggests that affirmative attitudes are distinct from the absence
of negative attitudes.
IHNI SAMPLE ITEMS
Factor 1: Personal Homonegativity
1.Sometimes I feel that I might be better off dead than
gay.
2.When I think about my attraction towards men, I feel
unhappy.
3.I believe it is unfair that I am attracted to men instead
of women.
Factor 2: Gay Affirmation
4.I see my homosexuality as a gift.
5.I believe being gay is an important part of me.
6.I believe public schools should teach that
homosexuality is normal.Factor 3: Morality of Homosexuality
7.In my opinion, homosexuality is harmful to the order
of society.
8.I believe it is morally wrong for men to have sex with
other men.
9.In general, I believe that gay men are more immoral
than straight men.
Notes :
Items are rated on a 6-point scale ranging from:
15Strongly disagree to 65Strongly agree .
Reproduced with permission.
Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale (SIHS)
(Currie et al., 2004 ).
Variable
The SIHS assesses internalized homonegativity among gay men only, with specific attention to sexual comfort
with other gay men.
Description
The SIHS is a 12-item measure with three factors: Public Identification, Sexual Comfort with Gay Men, and
Social Comfort with Gay men (4 items each). The Public Identification and Social Comfort subscales come directly
from Ross and Rosser’s (1998) scale with the exception of one item. The authors included additional items gener-
ated to tap sexual comfort with gay men, which comprise the third factor. Previous measures had not specifically
addressed attitudes relating to sexual attraction and desire. Participants respond using a 7-point Likert-type scale.
Higher scores reflect greater internalized homonegativity ( Currie et al., 2004 ).
Sample
Analyses utilized data from 677 gay men from the United States who were part of a larger sample ( N51,307)
of gay men from 40 countries ( Mage538.53, SD512.51). This sample was divided in half randomly to create inde-
pendent samples on which to conduct EFA and CFA. Mean scores on the SIHS as well as race/ethnicity of parti-
cipants were not reported.
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Cronbach alpha coefficients for the three subscales in each sample ranged from .68 to .77. The alpha coefficient
for the complete SIHS was .78 (sample 2; Currie et al., 2004 ).743 MEASURES OF INTERNALIZED ANTI-LGB BIAS
VI. SOCIOCULTURAL INTERACTION AND CONFLICT