Homophobic appropriation: the psychological correlates of the Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale: a new measure of internalized homophobia

The present study replicated the factor structure of the new Short Internalised Homonegativity Scale (SIHS), and investigated the relationship between the SIHS and a number of its previously reported psychosocial correlates in a geographically diverse sample of 430 Australian gay men, As expected, scores on SIHS were significantly associated with lower general self-esteem, fewer overall gay social supports, and higher levels of overall psychosexual maladjustment. In addition, HIV+ gay men, compared to HIV- gay men, were likely to report significantly less internalised homonegativity. Gay men currently in a relationship were found to have lower SIHS scores than single gay men, and a significant inverse relationship between scores on the SIHS and the number of years since coming out was found. Therapeutic implications of these findings and clinical applications of SIHS are discussed.