Creating a scale to measure internalized homophobia among self-identified lesbians

Thesis written by a student in the UNT Honors College discussing the influence and predictive qualities of homonegative attitudes on internalized homophobia among gay, lesbian, and bisexual college students, and the moderating effects of self esteem on these variables.

This article reports the development and psychometric properties of a new scale that measures internalized homophobia in lesbians: the Lesbian Internalized Homophobia Scale (LIHS). This 52-item measure was developed using a rational/theoretical approach of test construction and includes five subscales. Research findings, based on a sample of 303 female participants, supported the reliability and validity of the LIHS in assessing internalized homophobia in lesbians. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

This study investigated for the first time the relationship between internalized homophobia and shame in gay men. It also briefly re-examined the relationship between internalized homophobia and self-esteem in gay men. A sample of 100 gay men from a variety of sources responded to three questionnaires and a demographic survey. Findings included a significant positive relationship between shame and internalized homophobia and a significant inverse relationship between internalized homophobia and self-esteem. Additional findings included significant correlations between seven variables and internalized homophobia and between six variables and internalized shame.

SUMMARY In this article we discuss the importance of studying internalized homophobia and provide a rationale for studying internalized homophobia in lesbians apart from gay men. We review published scales used to assess internalized homophobia in lesbians and describe recent studies on the correlates of internalized homophobia in lesbians. We discuss concepts of internalized homophobia as minority stress and identify variables that have been theoretically linked to internalized homophobia in lesbians but have not been empirically examined. Implications for practice and research are also discussed.

Stereotypic and stigmatic attitudes toward homosexuality may interfere both directly and indirectly with the care provided to gay and lesbian patients. The purpose of this study was to measure attitudes toward gays and lesbians and assess homophobia among psychiatric nurses. The demographic characteristics of education, religious identification, and knowledge of gays and lesbians had positive affects on attitudes and homophobia. The Attitudes Towards Gays and Lesbians Scale (ATGLS) developed by the researcher specifically for this study assessed cognitive attitudes and the Index of Homophobia (IHP), developed by Hudson and Ricketts (1980), measured homophobia, the affective response to gays and lesbians.

Homophobia is seen as a factor which affects the mental health of not only heterosexual individuals but also of homosexual and bisexual individuals. In this study, attachment, self-compassion and internalized homophobia in lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals are evaluated. Furthermore, it is aimed to explain in detail the historical process of the place of the concept of homosexuality in mental health literature and the concepts related tointernalized homophobia. Within this context, studies regarding attachment, self-compassion and internalized homophobia inLGB individuals are addressed and suggestions are made regarding their relationship with mental health.

Perspectives on Internalized Homophobia: Qualitative Research on Chinese LGBTQ Students in the U.S. and China and Their Romantic Relationships Haoran Li Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles Introduction Literature Review Research Methods Internalized homophobia, defined as a “gay person’s direction of negative social attitudes toward the self, leading to a devaluation of the self and resultant internal conflicts and poor self-regard,” often negatively affects the psychological, physiological and social well-being of both the individual experiencing it as well as the larger LGBTQ community (Meyer, et al., 1998). My research will mainly use qualitative methods. The key independent variable—level of internalized homophobia—will be measured and controlled based on the aforementioned GMHR Internalized Homophobia Scale. In this study, I seek to examine how Chinese LGBTQ students attending universities in the U.S. and China score on the Global Men's Health and Rights Study (GMHRS) Internalized Homophobia Scale. I propose that they experience internalized homophobia, which affects their romantic relationships to a severe degree. Since university students are typically involved in the process of building their identity through experimenting with romantic relationships, it is important to focus a study on this population. I will conduct semi-structured interviews to assess participants’ subjective feelings regarding romantic relationships. I plan to recruit a total of 20 participants—Chinese college students from UCLA and Nanjing University—who consider themselves members of the LGBTQ population. There will be 10 participants from China and the United States respectively. Background Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, I will use snowball sampling to collect interviews to be conducted both face-to-face and online. Discussion I anticipate that students with higher degrees of internalized homophobia will experience more difficulties surrounding their romantic relationships. With an increase in the degree of internalized homophobia, people will have a wider variety of subjective feelings and personal approaches to cope with. I suspect my participants will face more serious problems in their relationships, such as low self-confidence, mood swings, violence, distrust, etc. This research will hopefully lead to more discussion on student perspectives regarding their own internalized homophobia. More importantly, the comparative aspect of this research will contribute to the understanding of LGBTQ communities across national borders and help members of these communities pinpoint problems they must address. Apart from my broader goals with this proposed project, I hope this will help set the stage for my future research to combat and remedy the detrimental effects of this phenomenon according to the needs of different populations. Acknowledgments As these statistics show, In China, internalized homophobia is not only an issue of LGBTQ rights, but also women's rights and children's rights. It is likely that such problems are common in other cultures where the familial and political environments are similar to that of China. Minority Stress Models References Pyun, T., Santos, G. M., Arreola, S., Do, T., Hebert, P., Beck, J., Makofane, K., ... Ayala, G. (January 01, 2014). Internalized homophobia and reduced HIV testing among men who have sex with men in China. Asia-pacific Journal of Public Health / Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, 26, 2, 118-25. Kelley, T. M., & Robertson, R. A. (January 01, 2008). Relational aggression and victimization in gay male relationships: the role of internalized homophobia. Aggressive Behavior, 34, 5.) Rowen, C., & Malcolm, J. (January 01, 2002). Correlates of Internalized Homophobia and Homosexual Identity Formation in a Sample of Gay Men. Journal of Homosexuality, 43, 2, 77-92. Frost, D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (January 01, 2009). Internalized Homophobia and Relationship Quality among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 1, 97-109. Carvalho, A. F., Lewis, R. J., Derlega, V. J., Winstead, B. A., & Viggiano, C. (October 01, 2011). Internalized Sexual Minority Stressors and Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Family Violence, 26, 7, 501-509. Cochran, B. N., & Cauce, A. M. (January 01, 2006). Characteristics of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals entering substance abuse treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 30, 2, 135-146. Dr. Ilan H. Meyer, Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law Professor Aliza Luft, UCLA Department of Sociology Stacey Shin, UCLA Department of English Emily Yen, UCLA Department of Sociology Gabriela Wanless, UCLA Undergraduate Research Center Contact Information Haoran Li Email: lihaoran1027@ucla.edu Phone: 707-888-1132

This study sought to examine the association between internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms in lesbian women, and establish whether such a relationship was mediated by collective self-este...