The development and validation of the modern homonegativity scale (MHS)

This thesis details the psychometric properties of the Modern Homonegativity Scale (MHS), which is designed to measure negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Four studies assessed: 1) the values perceived to be violated and upheld by gay men and lesbians (N=40), 2) the reliability and factor structure of a preliminary version of the MHS (N=353), 3) the reliability and construct validity of the final version of the MHS (N=309), and 4) a behavioural expression of modern homonegativity (N=36). The MHS is unidimensional and possesses a high degree of internal consistency. As hypothesized, MHS scores correlated positively with political conservatism, religious behaviour and self-schema, modern sexism, and endorsement of the Protestant Work Ethic, and correlated negatively with acceptance of an Humanitarian-Egalitarian ideology. MHS scores were not contaminated by social desirability bias. An experimental examination of the construct validity of modern homonegativity revealed that high-scoring participants on the MHS were less likely to sit beside individuals wearing t-shirts with pro-gay/pro-lesbian slogans. The present studies reveal that modem homonegativity exists and operates within university populations.