CATH SAMPLE ITEMS
Condemnation/Tolerance
1.Lesbians (gay men) should be required to register
with the police department where they live.
2.Job discrimination against lesbians (gay men) is
wrong. (R)
Gay Male/Lesbian Social Norms/Morality
3.The increasing acceptance of gay men (lesbians) in
our society is aiding in the deterioration of morals.
4.Gay men (lesbians) do need psychological treatment.
Neutral Morality
5.Homosexuality, as far as I am concerned, is not
sinful. (R)
6.I find the thought of homosexual acts disgusting.
Gay Male/Lesbian Contact
7.Two gay men (lesbians) holding hands or displaying
affection in public is revolting.
8.If I knew someone was a gay male (lesbian), I
would go ahead and form a friendship with that
individual. (R)Neutral Contact
9.If a member of my sex made advances toward me, I
would feel angry.
10.I would be comfortable if I found myself attracted to
a member of my sex. (R)
Gay Male/Lesbian Stereotypes
11.Lesbians (gay men) prefer to take roles (passive or
aggressive) in their sexual behavior.
12.The love between two lesbians (gay men) is quite
different from the love between two persons of the
opposite sex.
Notes :
Items are rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging
from: 1 5Strongly agree to 55Strongly disagree .
Displayed here are the lesbian items with the neces-
sary adjustments for gay male targets in parentheses.
(R) Reverse scored item.
Reproduced with permission.
Modern Homophobia Scale (MHS)
(Raja & Stokes, 1998 ).
Variable
The MHS was designed to assess modern prejudicial attitudes toward lesbians (MHS-L) and gay men
(MHS-G).
Description
The MHS-L and MHS-G scales are composed of 24 and 22 items, respectively, reflecting three dimensions
labeled: Personal Discomfort, Institutional Homophobia, and Deviance/Changeability. These factors are highly
correlated, however, suggesting a lack of divergent validity. Item responses are averaged to form the MSH-G and
MSH-L subscales with higher values indicating more negative attitudes.
Sample
The MHS was validated using data from 304 (50% male) heterosexual undergraduate students. Thirty-five per-
cent of the respondents were white, 32% were Asian, 23% were Latino/Latina or Hispanic, 7% were African
American, and 2% were mixed race. Mean scores on the MSH-G as rated by men and women were 3.01
(SD5.95), and 2.45 ( SD5.89), respectively. Mean scores on the MSH-L for both men and women were 2.62
(SDs5.89 and .86; Raja & Stokes, 1998 ). Correlations between the MHS-G and MHS-L ranged from .60 to .74.
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Both the MHS-L and the MHS-G scales exhibited a Cronbach alpha coefficient of .95 ( Raja & Stokes, 1998 ).730 25. MEASURES OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS SEXUAL ORIENTATION: HETEROSEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA, AND INTERNALIZED STIGMA
VI. SOCIOCULTURAL INTERACTION AND CONFLICT