The internalized homophobia scale was developed for use with gay men and is intended to measure the extent to which negative attitudes and beliefs about homosexuality are internalized and integrated into ones selfimage and identity as gay. For example, your goal might be to overcome the negative feelings regarding your. Additional information with regard to scoring, test validity and reliability are available in fisher, davis, yarber, and davis 2010. Jul 14, 2017 internalized homophobia can be more subtle. It is clear that the word homophobia in this context, is misleading the over simplified idea that it is individual acts of fear and ignorance diverts our attention from the much more pervasive systemic oppression that is at the root of.
All items were rated on a 5point likert type scale, ranging from 1 strongly disagree. Homophobia, an unrealistic fear of gayslesbians, affects all of us in this culture straight and gay alike. For example, some lesbians may be uncomfortable or embarrassed by more butch or stereotypical lesbianlooking women. The sochi olympics are intended, as the economist has noted, as a celebration of russias resurgence, a symbol of international recognition. The homophobia scale measurement instrument database for the. Internalized homophobia can be experienced by any non. The deadly potential of internalized homophobia is all too real living a life of secrecy and selfloathing can lead to deteriorating mental health and yes, violence against.
Pdf the reliability and validity of the internalized. Make a conscious choice to identify and eliminate your internalized homophobia. Homophobia is defined as the irrational fear of homosexuals, homosexuality, or any behavior, belief, or others which does not conform to rigid sex role stereotypes. The scale contains 25 items, and scores homophobia is the result of the remnants of homosexuality in the heterosexual resolution of the oedipal conflict. Development and validation of the homophobia scale springerlink. If finds that social work intervention reduces the dropout rate only of children whose families are experiencing high levels of family stress. Homophobia is defined as the irrational fear of homosexuals, homosexuality, or any behavior.
Internalized homophobia and relationship quality among. This includes the examination of four key areas of a persons lgbq identity. Nov 29, 2016 gay and bi men are more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence if they report high levels of internalized homophobia, a new study found. Internalized homophobia linked to domestic violence. Homophobia scales appear to be in need of similar updating. Whereas these notions are vague, psychoanalytic theories usually postu.
Development and validation of the homophobia scale. This was my first time feeling what its like to be discriminated against by. The reliability and validity of the internalized homophobia scale ihp among a mexican sample of men who have sex with men msm. Whats more, the nhai or one of its revisions is frequently used to measure ih in lesbians, despite the fact that the measure was not developed for women. Loving yourself is the single most important thing you can do to improve your relationships with others and your own experience of life. Internalized homophobia is a concept much more nuanced than its simple definition would suggest. Internalized homophobia can cause or contribute to lowered selfesteem, intense shame, chemical dependency, and a generalized alienation from ones true self. This category is for issues relating to homophobia. Results yielded a 25item questionnaire consisting of three factors. Elicit from students that the word homophobia implies fear and hatred whereas heterosexism is an umbrella term for bias and discrimination against people who are lgbq. Luna barco a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of counselling mc city university of seattle vancouver bc, canada site 2016 approved by. Homophobia is the name for what freud saw as heterosexuals vigorous counterattitudes to homosexuality. In response the agency carried out a large scale legal.
The majority of the homophobia scales currently in use measure attitudes toward. From the preceding quiz, you may get the idea that there are just a few points on the homophobia scale ranging from nonhomophobic to homophobic. Put another way, internal homophobia also known as internalized sexual stigma is the endorsement of sexual stigma as a part of someones core values. The scale was developed to assess the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of homophobia. The study examined the link between living in a homophobic environment and internalized homophobia, e. Meyer columbia university the authors examined the associations between internalized homophobia, outness, community connectedness, depressive symptoms, and relationship quality among a diverse community. The people of the world now know that over reactivity of homophobia is a sign of. Study 43 terms hdf 211 quiz 10 study guide flashcards quizlet. Getting past internalized homophobia is like a 12step program. When people have an irrational fear such as homophobia, the illogical fear drives extra anger. Psychometric properties of the turkish version of the. The homosexual people include the gays and the lesbians. The internalized homophobia scale consists of 20 items, 9 of which are from the nungesser homosexual attitudes inventory nungesser, 1983, with the other 11 items developed by the hiv center for clinical and behavioral studies at the new york state psychiatric institute.
A handbook of structured experiences and exercises for training and development. The term homophobia was first described in 1972 by george weinberg, and defined as an irrational fear, hatred, and intolerance of being in close quarters with homosexual men and women. Heterosexism and homophobia are unconscious or conscious inconsideration or negative feelings, respectively, toward someone whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual. This inward directed anger builds up till it burst out as excessive homophobia. A scale of prejudice against transgender individuals was developed, validated, and contrasted with a homophobia measure in 153 female and 157 male us college undergraduates. 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.
Homophobia is a colloquial expression that refers to negative, fearful, or hateful attitudes and behavior toward gays and lesbians. To reflect and acknowledge current common usage, the terms homophobia is used here. Assessing sexual selfstigma internalized homophobia internalized sexual stigma refers to a heterosexual or sexual minority individuals personal acceptance of sexual stigma as a part of her or his own value system. Explain that the term homophobia is used more frequently than heterosexism.
Internalized homophobiatransphobia homophiliatransphilia. Description the hs consists of 25 statements to which respondents answer on a 5point likert scale of 1 strongly agree to 5 strongly disagree. Dec 23, 2015 knowing first hand of the harassment and hardship that gay and lesbian activists went through in order to merely eliminate the reality of arrest or involuntary psychiatric confinement and to establish their right to love while at the same time recalling all too clearly the turmoil caused by the realization that one is samesex attracted when it runs contrary to everything that we are. One measure that was created specifically for use with lesbian populations has rarely been utilized in research lesbian internalized homophobia scale. For us to work to our fullest potential in the movement and in our daily lives, we must also work on our stuff. Gays and lesbians experience internalized homophobia as a result of growing up in a culture that allowsencourages discrimination against homosexuals. The homophobia scale hs was developed to assess the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of homophobia.
Social and internalized homophobia as a source of con. My recent experience with internalized homophobia from a longtime friend. Other scales that measure homophobia are the smith homophobia scale smith, 1971. Glbt people are born that way and, therefore, should be pitied. Exclude ratings teen and up audiences 5235 explicit 3537 mature 3420.
In response the agency carried out a large scale legal and social research project during 2007 and 2008. Pdf development and validation of the homophobia scale. Internalized homophobia among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and. Homophobia, culturally produced fear of or prejudice against homosexuals that sometimes manifests itself in legal restrictions or, in extreme cases, bullying or even violence against homosexuals sometimes called gay bashing. The significance of measuring internalized homophobia is its negative impact on the mental health of gay. They may not even be aware that they have these feelings. Internalized homophobia, disclosure, and health springerlink. Internalized homophobia and internalizing mental health. Homophobia heterosexism is the systemic bias which favours heterosexuals and heterosexuality. Internalized homophobia and health issues affecting. Its characterized by a generalized negative attitude towards homosexuals, if not outright feelings of hatred. A more recent scale to measure internalized homophobia amongst gay men has been developed by ross and rosser ross and rosser, 1996, and suggests four dimensions to the construct. Below, frontline has reproduced this wright, adams, and bernat homophobia scale.
Pdf assessing attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. The scale was frequently used in tolerance education about antidiscriminatory attitudes regarding sexual orientation. Doc research paper internalized homophobia gregory. The hs consists of 25 statements to which respondents answer on a 5point likert scale of 1 strongly agree to 5 strongly disagree. Wagner, new york state psychiatric institute the internalized homophobia scale was developed for use with gay men and is intended to measure the extent to which negative attitudes and beliefs about homosexuality are internalized and integrated into ones selfimage and identity as gay. We are witnessing a recent eruption of gay teen suicides. This comprehensive report composed of two parts, a legal and a social analysis, is.
Internalized homophobia is further characterized by an intrapsychic conflict between experiences of samesex affection or desire and feeling a need to be heterosexual. Homophobia is an intense, irrational fear and strong dislike of the homosexuals anti defamation league par. Williamson, in his 1998 paper internalized homophobia and health issues affecting lesbians and gay men finds the term homophobia to be highly problematic but for reasons of continuity and consistency with the majority of other publications on the issue retains its use rather than using more accurate but obscure terminology. Attitudes towards glbt people survey scoring guide the statements reflect the following attitudes. To deal with internalized homophobia, you need to be willing to tap into these feelings and address them head on. The riddle scale also known as riddle homophobia scale or riddle scale of homophobia was a psychometric scale that measured the degree to which a person is or is not homophobic.
Although it may be difficult, remind yourself why you are doing this. Homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. A study tests the hypothesis that the provision of social work intervention will reduce the school dropout rate. Assessing sexual selfstigma internalized homophobia. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. A selfreport survey including the hudson and ricketts index of homophobia scale, a demographic questionnaire, and an interpersonal contact questionnaire was completed by 30 psychology majors and 39 business majors.
A stepbystep approach to feeling more confident and less insecure. Internalized homophobia is a result of the conscious or unconscious learning of prejudices, stereotypes, and homophobic behaviors prevailing in a heteronormative context. It must not include articles about individuals, groups or media that are allegedly homophobic subcategories. Homophobia is fear of, or hostility towards, homosexuality and internalized homophobia is the presence of these feelings within oneself. A brief homophobia scale in medical students from two.
Homophobia is a form of cultural prejudice rather than a manifestation of an individual phobia. Getting past internalized homophobia is like a 12step. Ih and internalizing mental health problems early research in the 1970s and 1980s indicated that lgb individuals showed only slightly elevated counts of psychiatric 1020 m. Internalized homophobia and relationship quality among lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals david m. Exclude ratings teen and up audiences 4473 explicit 3086 mature 2928. It is the counterpart to sexual prejudice among heterosexuals herek. It is this fear that enforces sexism as well as heterosexism. Riddle homophobia scale university of alaska southeast. This act of fear normally leads to the expression of violence and sometimes even creates an act of hostility among people in the society. This 52item measure was developed using a rationaltheoretical approach of test. This test is selfreporting, composed of 25 items, which assesses a total score and three factors linked to homophobia. Internalizing sexual stigma involves adapting ones selfconcept to be congruent with the stigmatizing responses of society.
The term homophobia was coined in the late 1960s and was used prominently by george weinberg, an american clinical psychologist, in his book society and the. It has been encoded into and is a characteristic of the major social, cultural and economic institutions of our western society. Italian validation of homophobia scale hs sciencedirect. It declares preemptively that anyone who has a reservation about homosexuality has a problem. For both sexes, transphobia and homophobia were highly correlated with each other and with rightwing authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and hostile sexism, but aggression proneness was. An eighth scale, defined 8 stereotypes, consisted of items that varied between the two sexes and revealed adherence to gay and lesbian stereotypes. Internalised homophobia and oppression happens to gay, lesbian and bisexual people, and even heterosexuals, who have learned and been taught that heterosexuality is the norm and correct way to be.
Gay men may act ultramacho to hide the fact that theyre gay. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual knowledge and attitudes scale worthington et al. Womens experience of homophobia and transphobia survey report. Internalized homophobia 12963 angst 3418 homophobia 2376 fluff 1806 homophobic language 1437 slow burn 18 hurtcomfort 1241 coming out 1207 periodtypical homophobia 1201 angst with a happy ending 1106 other tags to include exclude. This article reports the development and psychometric properties of a new scale that measures internalized homophobia in lesbians. Hearing and seeing negative depictions of lgb people can lead us to internalise, or take in, these negative messages. It stems from the idea that male and female roles, thoughts and expressions are separate and heterosexism falls within the. Homophobia decides the issue before you can open your mouth to offer your opinion.
This study describes the development and validation of the homophobia scale. The term is a misnomer in that it implies an irrational fear of homosexuals similar to the panic of claustrophobia. All scale scores had a good alpha coefficient three higher than. Counterprejudicial attitudes, 7 homosexual marriage. The homophobia scale hs is a valid tool to assess homophobia. It is not a perfect measure of antigay feelings or ideas, and is not a predictor of potential for antigay violence.
Internalized homophobia is the fear or hatred of homosexuality that exists inside ones own mind defined interpersonal homophobia. The participants n321 for the field trials and n122 for testretest reliability were college students from a large midwestern university. There are a wide range of attitudes towards human sexuality. There are two logical, predictable consequences of a lifetime of. Internalized homophobia 15106 angst 3976 homophobia 2752 fluff 2177 homophobic language 1659 slow burn 1653 hurtcomfort 1521 periodtypical homophobia 1446 coming out 1445 angst with a happy ending 1406 other tags to include exclude. A few scales have been developed by psychiatrists and researchers to measure internalized homophobia such ross and rossers four dimensions. Interpersonal homophobia is homophobic speech and or actions of an individual towards others who are, or who are perceived to be, lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, or queer. Results indicated that business majors were associated with higher levels of homophobia than psychology majors. They become secretly and often unconsciously angry at themselves. Internalized homophobia is defined as the involuntary belief by lesbians and gay men that the homophobic lies, stereotypes and myths about them that are delivered to everyone in a heterosexist homophobic society are true. Or they may not recognize the feelings as internalized homophobia. However, the issue of homophobia is far more complicated than this. Pdf the multifactor internalized homophobia inventory. The test is widely cited in the empirical literature and is considered one of the most valid instruments for measuring homophobia.