Validation of the Short-Version of the Modern Homonegativity Scale in Chilean YouthValidación de la Versión Abreviada de la Escala de Homonegatividad Moderna en Jóvenes Chilenos

Abstract

Copyright 2021 by PsykheThough gay and lesbian rights have received increasing recognition around the world, prejudice and discrimination have become more covert. The main objective of this study was to validate the 10-item version of the Modern Homonegativity Scale (MHS) in its two parallel forms: modern homonegativity towards gay men (MHS-G) and modern homonegativity towards lesbians (MHS-L). The participants in this study were 182 young Chileans from Santiago, aged between 18 and 25 years, who were selected through convenience (non-probability) sampling. A confirmatory factor analysis yielded evidence for the unidimensionality of both versions of the instrument. Both forms of the instrument obtained good indicators of internal consistency according to McDonald’s omega (ωgay = 0.91, CI 95% [0.89, 0.93]; ωles = 0.90, CI 95% [0.88, 0.92]). The multigroup analyses conducted suggest that both forms are invariant for men and women as well as between themselves. We found a positive association between modern homonegativity levels and sexism and conservatism levels as well as a negative relationship with positive affects and intentions of establishing contact with gay men and lesbian women. These results offer support for the use of the 2 Chilean versions of the instrument (MHS-G and MHS-L), making available a useful tool for measuring new expressions of prejudice towards gay men and lesbians in Chilean youth.