MEASUREMENT AND CORRELATES OF INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA - A FACTOR-ANALYTIC STUDY

We developed a scale to measure internalized homophobia in men who hav e sex with men, which is comprised of items derived from theoretical a nd clinical reports of internalized homophobia. Two hundred two men wh o have sex with men and who attend ''Man to Man'' sexual health semina rs in a midwestern U.S. city completed the scale at baseline. Orthogon al factor analysis revealed four dimensions of internalized homophobia : public identification as gay, perception of stigma associated with b eing homosexual, social comfort with gay men, and the moral and religi ous acceptability of being gay. Factor scoring of these dimensions ind icated that they were associated significantly with relationship satis faction, duration of longest relationship, extent of attraction to men and women, proportion of social time with gay people, membership of g ay/bisexual groups, HIV serostatus, and disclosure of sexual orientati on. Internalized homophobia is measurable and consists of four dimensi ons that are associated significantly with low disclosure, shorter len gth of and satisfaction with relationships, lower degree of sexual att raction to men and higher degree of attraction to women, and lower soc ial time with gay people.