5.As far as I’m concerned, female bisexuality is
unnatural. (R)
Notes :
Items are rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging
from: 1 5Strongly disagree to 55Strongly agree .(R) Reverse scored item.
*Items from Stability subscale. All other items are
from the Tolerance subscale.
Reproduced with permission.
MEASURES OF INTERNALIZED ANTI-LGB BIAS
Internalized Homophobia Scale (IHS)
(Wagner et al., 1994 )
Variable
The IHS assesses internalized homophobia among gay men defined as the incorporation of negative attitudes
regarding homosexuality into one’s own self-image and gay identity.
Description
The IHS consists of 20 items, 9 of which were taken directly from Nungesser’s (1983) scale. The remaining items
were developed by the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Participants rate their level of agreement with these items using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Scores range from 20 to
100 with higher scores reflecting greater internalized homophobia. The IHS is a unidimensional measure.
Sample
Wagner et al. (1994) examined how gay men integrate religious faith and beliefs with their sexual orientation.
Three samples of Catholic gay men who either were or were not members of Dignity, a religious organization
and community specifically for gay Catholics, were recruited to participate. Sample means on the IHS were 32.6
(SD510.6) for the 48 gay men from a national Dignity convention, 37.4 ( SD512.8) for the 53 members of New
York Dignity, and 36.3 ( SD511.6) for the 45 Catholic gay men who were not members of this organization
(Wagner et al., 1994 ).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
A Cronbach alpha coefficient of .92 for the IHS scale has been reported ( Wagner et al., 1994 ).
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
Positive correlations emerged between t he IHS and a measure of demoralization ( Dohrenwend, Shrout, Ergi, &
Mendelsohn, 1987 ) for both Dignity samples ( rs5.49 and .38, respectively), and also for a community sample ( r5.24).
Wagner, Brondolo, and Rabkin (1996) found that IHS scores correlated positively with scores on the Brief Symptom
Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983 ) both at baseline and two years later ( r5.37, .30, respectively).
Divergent/Discriminant
Those in the New York Dignity sample also completed measures of political and religious liberalism/conser-
vatism, and integration into the gay community (higher scores reflect greater liberalism and integration). All
three of these measures correlated negatively with IHS scores, r5/C0.35,/C0.51, and /C0.54, respectively ( Wagner
et al., 1994 ).
Criterion/Predictive
Baseline internalized homophobia scores were positively predictive of follow-up psychological distress among
those who were HIV 1asymptomatic at baseline ( r5.61), but not among those who were either HIV /C0or HIV 1738 25. MEASURES OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS SEXUAL ORIENTATION: HETEROSEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA, AND INTERNALIZED STIGMA
VI. SOCIOCULTURAL INTERACTION AND CONFLICT