Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Introduction
People who belong to a sexual and gender minority often face
prejudices that have their roots in heterosexism, a sociocultural system that
can manifest itself in different ways and sometimes in a seemingly benevolent
fashion. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the
Multidimensional Heterosexism Inventory (MHI), a scale assessing aversive,
amnestic, paternalistic, and positive stereotypic heterosexism, in an Italian
sample.

Methods
Two hundred one cisgender and heterosexual individuals (129 women
and 72 men) aged 18 to 81 years (M = 36.42,
SD = 12.56) were recruited online between
May and October 2022 and answered questions about social dominance orientation,
right-wing authoritarianism, ambivalent sexism, and attitudes toward lesbians
and gay men.

Results
Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original 4-factor model
of the scale fit the data well. Predictive and convergent validity of the
Italian version of the MHI was adequate, whereas discriminant validity was not
fully achieved due to overlap of multidimensional heterosexism with hostile and
benevolent sexism and authoritarianism. Scores were higher for aversive and
amnesic heterosexism in men than in women, but not for paternalistic and
positive stereotypic heterosexism. Finally, less educated participants, those
with no LGBTQI + friends, and religious participants were higher in all MHI
subscales than their counterparts.

Conclusions
This study provides the first evidence for the validity and
reliability of an Italian version of the MHI.

Policy Implications
Using the MHI can help to make visible not only the explicit but
also the subtle forms of heterosexism, thus recognizing the multidimensional
nature of heterosexism produced in social institutions.