Homosexism Scale – Short Form

Abstract

The Homosexism Scale – Short Form is a critical psychometric instrument designed to quantify negative attitudes and prejudice specifically directed toward gay men and lesbians. This 15-item scale is a shortened version of the original instrument developed by Gary L. Hansen in 1982. The short form is structured to assess various dimensions of anti-gay bias, including beliefs concerning employment restrictions, support for social isolation, and perceived danger posed by homosexual individuals. The scale utilizes a standard Likert-type response format, enabling researchers to measure the intensity of attitudes reflecting homosexism.

Keywords

Homosexism, Homophobia, Prejudice, Anti-gay bias, Attitude measurement, Psychological scale, Sexual orientation, Discrimination.

Authors

Gary L. Hansen

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Homosexism Scale is to provide researchers with a reliable and valid measure of prejudice against gay men and lesbians. It was initially developed to assess these attitudes specifically within college student populations, providing a standardized tool to examine psychological and sociological factors related to anti-gay sentiment. The scale is designed to capture a wide spectrum of negative attitudes, encompassing both overtly discriminatory beliefs (such as supporting restrictions on government office or employment) and more subtle forms of personal discomfort or desire for social segregation.

In applied research settings, the short form serves to explore the mediating role of homosexism in influencing other social perceptions. For instance, the scale has been utilized to investigate how levels of anti-gay bias may contribute to phenomena such as jury bias or the negative perception of specific groups, notably male rape victims.

Construct

The scale measures the psychological construct of Homosexism, which is defined as the organized system of negative beliefs, hostile attitudes, and discriminatory behaviors directed toward individuals based on their sexual orientation. This construct is multifaceted, incorporating cognitive elements (stereotypes and negative beliefs), affective elements (discomfort or hostility), and behavioral intentions (support for discriminatory policies).

While often used interchangeably with the term Homophobia in social psychology, Homosexism as defined by Hansen emphasizes the societal, systemic, and political dimensions of bias, focusing on institutional and cultural norms that promote discrimination rather than purely individual fear.

Validity

The original Homosexism Scale (Hansen, 1982) established strong evidence of psychometric validity, which has been maintained in the short form. Construct validity was established by demonstrating significant positive correlations with theoretically linked constructs, such as authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism, which are known indicators of higher levels of generalized prejudice.

Furthermore, the scale exhibits good discriminant validity, ensuring that it measures homosexism uniquely and is not merely an artifact of general social desirability bias. The item content, especially in the short form, focuses on practical and political aspects of bias, including employment, legal rights, and social contact, thereby contributing to its content validity by covering key areas of potential discrimination against sexual minorities.

Reliability

The instrument demonstrates high internal consistency, indicating strong reliability. The original 25-item version reported high internal reliability, and subsequent studies using the 15-item short form have generally maintained excellent internal consistency. These studies typically report Cronbach’s alpha coefficients in the range of .85 to .90, confirming that the items consistently measure the same underlying construct of homosexism.

While specific test-retest reliability data for the 15-item short form may vary across different research contexts, the established temporal stability of the parent scale suggests that the short form retains acceptable stability over time for research applications.

Factor Analysis

Although the original longer scale sometimes suggested multiple dimensions—such as sub-factors related to social distance, personal discomfort, and political/legal discrimination—the 15-item short form is predominantly utilized as a unifactorial measure. It is designed to yield a single, comprehensive score representing the respondent’s overall level of anti-gay prejudice.

Scoring conventions dictate that items reflecting non-sexist attitudes (specifically Items 1, 2, 4, 9, and 11) must be reverse-scored. This standardization ensures that higher composite scores consistently indicate higher levels of homosexism.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report scale, Attitudinal measure

Format: Likert scale, typically utilizing a 5-point range from Strongly Agree (5) to Strongly Disagree (1). Individual item scores are summed to produce a total score, where higher scores signify greater homosexism.

Language Available: Primarily English (modifications for specific geographical contexts, such as changing references from “America” to “UK,” have been documented in published academic studies).

Population Group: General population, though most frequently administered to college students and university samples.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically 18 years and older).

Population Details: The scale is widely recognized and used in social psychology research focused on attitudes, stereotyping, and bias related to sexual orientation.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with each statement. Specific items (1, 2, 4, 9, 11) are reverse-scored to ensure that all items contribute positively to the final measure of negative attitudes.

Keywords

Homosexism Scale, Gary L. Hansen, Attitude measurement, Prejudice assessment, Social psychology, Sexual minority research, Psychological testing.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not available for Gary L. Hansen, 1982)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not available)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not available)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was originally published in 1982 by Gary L. Hansen. As a widely cited academic instrument, it is generally available for non-commercial research purposes, provided that researchers properly cite the original source (Hansen, 1982) and any modifications utilized. The short form referenced here appeared in a subsequent academic publication concerning rape victim perception. The specific context where this instrument was found provides an online source: http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp.10.4.html.

Reference’s

• Hansen‚ G. (1982). Measuring prejudice against homosexuality (Homosexism) among college students: a new scale. The Journal of Social Psychology‚ 117‚ 233-236.
• The instrument was utilized in a study focusing on rape victim perception, available online: EXPLAINING NEGATIVE RAPE VICTIM PERCEPTION: HOMOPHOBIA AND THE MALE RAPE VICTIM (found on page 52).

Items of the Homosexism Scale – Short Form

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Items are typically scored on a 5-point scale from Strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1).

1. Sexual preference should not be a factor in employment opportunity
2. Homosexuals are just like everyone else‚ they simply chose an alternative lifestyle
3. Homosexuals should be isolated from heterosexuals
4. Homosexuals should not be discriminated against because of their sexual preferences
5. Homosexual acts should be illegal
6. Homosexuals are a danger to our young people
7. I would not like to work with a homosexual
8. Homosexuals should not hold high government offices
9. Job discrimination against homosexuals is wrong
10. Homosexuals should not hold leadership positions
11. Homosexuals do not corrupt the youth of America (changed to UK in the present study)
12. I would not want a homosexual to live in a house next to mine
13. If I found out one of my friends was a homosexual‚ our friendship would be severely damaged
14. I would never have anything to do with a person if I knew he/she was a homosexual
15. Apartment complexes should not accept homosexuals as renters