title: Italian Validation of Homophobia Scale (HS).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Homophobia Scale (HS) is a valid tool to assess homophobia. This test is self-reporting, composed of 25 items, which assesses a total score and three factors linked to homophobia: behavior/negative affect, affect/behavioral aggression, and negative cognition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to validate the HS in the Italian context.
  
  
  METHODS
  An Italian translation of the HS was carried out by two bilingual people, after which an English native translated the test back into the English language. A psychologist and sexologist checked the translated items from a clinical point of view. We recruited 100 subjects aged18-65 for the Italian validation of the HS. The Pearson coefficient and Cronbach's α coefficient were performed to test the test-retest reliability and internal consistency.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sociodemographic questionnaire including the main information as age, geographic distribution, partnership status, education, religious orientation, and sex orientation was administrated together with the translated version of HS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis of the internal consistency showed an overall Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.92. In the four domains, the Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.90 in behavior/negative affect, 0.94 in affect/behavioral aggression, and 0.92 in negative cognition, whereas in the total score was 0.86. The test-retest reliability showed the following results: the HS total score was r = 0.93 (P < 0.0001), behavior/negative affect was r = 0.79 (P < 0.0001), affect/behavioral aggression was r = 0.81 (P < 0.0001), and negative cognition was r = 0.75 (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Italian validation of the HS revealed the use of this self-report test to have good psychometric properties. This study offers a new tool to assess homophobia. In this regard, the HS can be introduced into the clinical praxis and into programs for the prevention of homophobic behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciocca
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicolina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Capuano
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tuziak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mollaioli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Limoncin
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valsecchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gravina
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gianfrilli
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lenzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Emmanuele A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Jannini
keywords: Homophobia; Homophobia Scale; Italian Validation; Italy; Psychometric Properties