NCJ Number
212062
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 20 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2005 Pages: 513-528
Date Published
October 2005
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study quantitatively examined the associations among homophobic verbal content, bullying, victimization, empathy, and several psychosocial outcomes of these constructs.
Abstract
In the course of the study, the initial reliability and validity of the Homophobic Content Agent Target (HCAT) Scale was also measured. Data for the study were collected during the latter part of a separate longitudinal investigation of bullying during early adolescence. The study involved 191 eighth-grade students at a Central Illinois middle school. They completed a questionnaire that solicited information on demographics; the use and receipt of homophobic verbal content; bullying, fighting relational aggression, and victimization; empathy; and psychosocial outcomes. Homophobic content was measured with the HCAT Scale; it assessed the extent to which students both used and were called various epithets related to sexual orientation. Cronback reliability coefficients of alpha=.85 were obtained for both factors. The data analysis found a strong association between homophobic content and the following constructs: forms of aggression (relational, bullying, and fighting); victimization; empathy (emphatic concern, perspective-taking); and psychosocial outcomes (school sense of belonging, delinquency, depression, and anxiety). Males made comments containing homophobic content toward other students to a greater extent than females, consistent with research on homophobia. Males were also more likely to be the targets of homophobic content. The HCAT Scale was determined to be valid and reliable. The authors recommend that future research examine the role of homophobia in bullying and victimization in schools. 3 tables and 41 references