Measures Related to Identity and Community
 
 

This page lists the items for the some of the scales administered in the Sacramento Community Study. They were first published in Herek and Glunt (1995).

All of the items on this page were originally administered with a 5-point Likert-type response scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Gay/Bisexual Personal Self-Esteem: Male Version (adapted from Rosenberg, 1965).
[Cronbach's alpha = .87]

  1. As a gay/bisexual man, I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with others.
  2. As a gay/bisexual man, I take a positive attitude toward myself.
  3. On the whole I am satisfied with myself as a gay/bisexual man.
  4. As a gay/bisexual man, I sometimes feel useless. (Reversed)
  5. When I think of myself as a gay/bisexual man, I'm inclined to think that I'm a failure. (Reversed)
  6. When I think of myself as a gay/bisexual man, I sometimes feel I am no good at all. (Reversed)
  7. As a gay/bisexual man, I feel that I have many good qualities.
 
 

Collective Self-Esteem: Male Version (adapted from Luhtanen & Crocker, 1991, 1992).
[alpha = .86]

  1. I'm glad I belong to the gay/bisexual community.
  2. I regret belonging to the gay/bisexual community. (Reversed)
  3. My membership in the gay/bisexual community is an important reflection of who I am.
  4. I feel good about belonging to the gay/bisexual community.
  5. I make a positive contribution to the gay/bisexual community.
  6. Belonging to the gay/bisexual community is an important part of my self image.
  7. I feel I don't have much to offer to the gay/bisexual community. (Reversed)
  8. I feel that belonging to the gay bisexual community is not a good thing for me. (Reversed)
  9. My membership in the gay/bisexual community has very little to do with how I feel about myself. (Reversed)
 
  Attributions Of Personal Setbacks To Prejudice: Male Version
[alpha = .90]
  1. In general, my own failures and setbacks have happened because I'm gay/bisexual in a homophobic world.
  2. Most of the bad things in my life happen because of homophobia.
  3. Most of the bad things that have happened to me were because I'm gay/bisexual.
  4. Most of my own setbacks in life have happened because of homophobia.
 
  Personal Choice Ideology: Male Version
[alpha = .65]
  1. I feel that I've always been homosexual. (Reversed)
  2. Being gay or bisexual is a part of me over which I have no choice. (Reversed)
  3. I freely chose my gay/bisexual orientation.
  4. There was a time in my life when I could have decided to be a heterosexual.
 
  Community Consciousness: Male Version
[alpha = .76]
  1. If we work together, gay/bisexual people can solve the problems facing us.
  2. I feel that it is important to keep informed about gay and bisexual issues.
  3. I actively support national gay/bisexual causes.
  4. I feel a bond with other men who are gay or bisexual.
  5. I think that most gay/bisexual men share a common sense of purpose in the need to work toward equal rights.
  6. I think that all gay/bisexual men should join together to end homophobia.
 
  All Measures

Download the Appendix to Herek and Glunt (1995), which lists items for all of the original measures used in the Sacramento Community study. (PDF format)

 
  References

Herek, G. M., & Glunt, E. K. (1995). Identity and community among gay and bisexual men in the AIDS era: Preliminary findings from the Sacramento Men's Health Study. In G. M. Herek, & B. Greene (Eds.), AIDS, identity, and community: The HIV epidemic and lesbians and gay men (pp. 55-84). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Luhtanen, R., & Crocker, J. (1991). Self-esteem and intergroup comparisons: Toward a theory of collective self-esteem. In J. Suls & T.A. Wills (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 211-234). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Luhtanen, R., & Crocker, J. (1992). A collective self-esteem scale: Self-evaluation of one's social identity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 302-318.

Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

 
 

Information about the Internalized Homophobia (IHP) Scale is posted elsewhere on the site.

Return to Dr. Herek's bibliography.

Home  |  Hate Crimes  |  AIDS  |  Sacramento  |  The Facts  |  Military  |  Sexual Prejudice
 
Blog   |   Contents   |   Publications   |   Site Search   |   Site Search   |   Contact Us   |   Useful Links   |   Social Psych Net

 

All original content of this website is copyright © 1997-2012 by Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D.
All rights reserved