17061 Assessing the Psychometric Validity of a Culturally Adapted Homophobia Scale among Chinese University Students

R2a-2

Abstract

Homophobia persists as a significant barrier to LGBTQ+ inclusivity in Chinese university settings, yet validated tools to assess such attitudes remain limited. This study contributes to addressing this gap by culturally adapting and validating a measure tailored to this context. The objective was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a culturally adapted Chinese version of the Homophobia Scale (HS) for assessing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments among Chinese university students. Following rigorous cultural adaptation that strictly adhered to Van de Vijver and Hambleton’s (1996) cross-cultural psychometric translation guidelines—including forward translation by two Applied Psychology PhD candidates, backward translation by English experts, expert committee review to resolve semantic discrepancies, and a preliminary pilot test with 5 students for revision—649 university students participated in a two-phase validation: 349 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and 300 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA supported a 3-factor structure (25 items) explaining 59.48% of variance, while CFA confirmed good model fit (CFI=0.952, RMSEA=0.064). The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency, with an overall Cronbach’s α=0.976, and high internal consistency for each factor: 0.912 for "Negative Emotion/Behavioral Rejection", 0.905 for "Positive Emotion/Acceptance Tendency", and 0.887 for "Social Anxiety/Cognitive Conflict". The adapted Chinese HS is a psychometrically sound tool for measuring anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments among Chinese university students, aiding targeted interventions to promote inclusivity, with limitations including a restricted sample and insufficient exploration of applicability across sexual orientation groups.