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Item Factor Structure and Validity of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Knowledge and Attitude Scale for Heterosexuals (LGB-KASH)(2011-12-12) Summers, Bryce; Arbona, Consuelo; Burridge, Andrea; Gaa, John; Backus, MargotHeterosexual attitudes toward Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) individuals have become the focus of recent research as sexual minorities and allies have advocated for LGB human rights issues and have subsequently captured the attention of the media (Rimmerman, 2001, 2008; Rimmerman, Wald, & Wilcox, 2000). Multiple influences shape heterosexual attitudes including gender socialization, individual sexual identity exploration, religious beliefs, and systemic prejudicial attitudes (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2005; Kilanski, 2003; Worthington, Savoy, Dillon, & Vernaglia, 2002; Worthington, Becker-Schutte, & Dillon, 2005). Worthington, Dillon, and Becker-Schutte (2005) and colleagues proposed that heterosexual attitudes toward sexual minorities are one aspect of the individual’s sexual identity that is comprised of several dimensions. Worthington et al. developed an instrument titled the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Knowledge and Attitude Scale for Heterosexuals (LGB-KASH) to assess the proposed dimensions of heterosexual attitudes toward LGB individuals. Results of confirmatory factor analyses with primarily white college students and adults in the Midwest identified five factors that were consistent with the proposed dimensions. These factors were labeled: hate (violent homonegativity; avoidance of LGB people); LGB knowledge; attitudes toward LGB civil right issues; religious conflict (ambivalent and negative attitudes caused by religious beliefs); and internalized affirmativeness (degree of comfort of having friends who are identified as LGB; feeling comfortable of having feelings of attraction towards the same-sex). The LGB-KASH’s five dimensions correlated in the expected direction with scales assessing traditional homonegativity and religiosity. No other study was located that examined the factor structure and the validity of the LGB-KASH subscales. The purposes of the proposed study was to examine (a) the factor structure of the LGB-KASH with an ethnically diverse college sample, and (b) the relation of the LGB-KASH dimensions to scales assessing modern-homonegativity and religious fundamentalism. It was hypothesized that the LGB-KASH five-factor structure would be confirmed with ethnically diverse college students. It was expected that modern-homonegativity would correlate positively with the hate and religious conflict subscales, and correlate negatively with the LGB knowledge, LGB civil right and internalized affirmativeness subscales. It was expected that religious fundamentalism would correlate positively with the hate and religious conflict subscales, and correlate negatively with LGB knowledge, LGB civil right and internalized affirmativeness subscales. Spirituality experiences of participants were also assessed expecting to find that experiences of spirituality would be unrelated to LGB-KASH subscales. This study surveyed 701 heterosexual identified volunteer participants. Participants represented several major ethnic groups including African-Americans, Latino/a, Asian-Americans, and European Whites. The instruments that were used in the study include: a demographic questionnaire, the LGB-KASH, the Modern Homonegativity Scale (MHS; Morrison & Morrison, 2002), the Religious Fundamentalism Scale (RFS; Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 1992), and FACIT-Spirituality Scale (Peterman, Fitchett, Brady, Hernandez, & Cella, 2002). A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with an oblique rotation using AMOS 17.0 to examine the factor structure of the LGB-KASH. Several indexes of fit were computed to assess how well the model fit the data including the chi-square, goodness-of-fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), comparative-fit index (CFI), root-mean-square residual (RMR), incremental fit index (IFI), parsimony comparative fit index (PCFI), and root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA). The CFA results indicated that the five factor-oblique model had a mediocre fit, and a comparable fit to the results found by Worthington and colleagues. Seven items with poor fit were identified and deleted from the scale in order to re-specify the five factor model. A CFA was conducted on the revised 21-item scale and results indicated that the model had a good fit. Convergent validity was evidenced as the LGB-KASH subscales scores were correlated in the expected direction to the measures of modern-homonegativity and religious fundamentalism; additionally, LGB-KASH subscales religious conflict and internalized affirmativeness were related to the construct of spiritual well-being. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.Item Heteronormativity in the Texas Oil Patch: The Impact of Practices, Policies, and Curriculum on Gay White Students in the Texas Public School System(2014-11-06) Thorson, Michael AndrewIn the past two decades there has been an increase in public demand for the creation of a school environment that is positive and safe for all students. Nearly 90 percent of LGBTIQ students surveyed reported hearing ?gay? used negatively, as well as, hearing homophobic remarks on a daily basis. Although quantitative research exists, there is no qualitative research addressing these specific issues in Texas, a Southern state with strong conservative religious and political affiliations. With this in mind, I set out to explore how heteronormativity influenced practices, policies and curriculum from the perspective of participants who identified as gay and white and had attended the Texas public school system. The study is composed of seven participants with data gathered in a multi-stage unstructured interview process. This process consists of an initial interview, analysis, and follow-up interviews. These interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and analyzed using holistic thematic analysis. All seven of my participants were able to articulate their experiences not only within the Texas school system, but within their family and community interactions. Themes that emerged included religion, heterosexual costume, personal homophobia/homonegativity, homophobic slurs, inaction of teachers and administrators, and LGBTIQ curriculum omission. This led to considering what can be derived from these experiences in regards to creating a positive school environment for LGBTIQ in Texas public schools. With these themes, several recommendations are made, including: ?Student organizations providing positive supports to LGBTIQ students ?Inclusive nondiscrimination and anti-bullying policies ?Training for administrators and teachers on LGBTIQ issues ?Inclusive curriculum The issues that affect LGBTIQ students within school districts across the country are varied and complex. This study begins to explore these complexities in order to better understand how to facilitate inclusivity for LGBTIQ youth in Texas public schools. Educators and school leaders must realize by not being mindful of the enacted curriculum, policies, and practices, they are potentially creating an oppressive and harmful school climate that not only affects LGBTIQ students physically, but emotionally with negative consequences on their academic achievement and mental health.Item Telling the Open Secret: Toward a New Discourse with the U.S. Military?s Don?t Ask Don?t Tell Policy(2010-10-12) Reichert, Andrew D.This qualitative dissertation in Counseling Psychology considers the open secret, an under-researched phrase describing an interesting phenomenon that is experienced by some, but not all, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people when their sexual orientation is known or suspected by family members, friends, and/or coworkers, but not discussed. A review of the literature notes how the essence of the open secret appears to be about knowledge that is not acknowledged, while it may also create a space of grace, allowing people to coexist, where they might not otherwise be able to do so easily. Participants (N = 11) were either current or past members of the U.S. military who served before or during the Don?t Ask Don?t Tell policy. Interviews were analyzed using James Paul Gee?s linguistic approach to narrative, from which three major findings emerged: (a) sexual and homophobic harassment, whereby historically homophobic attitudes within the military drive the need for secrecy surrounding LGBT sexuality; (b) acceptance and support, whereby the open secret seems to create a space of grace; and (c) empowerment and honesty, whereby LGBT people seem to have a new sense of honesty that empowers them toward a new sense of agency. Discussion includes examination of how the three findings may relate to the open versus secret parts of the open secret, as well as how the open secret and the Don?t Ask Don?t Tell policy may represent a gestalt attempt at balance that may now be moving toward a gestalt dynamic of completion, suggesting the possibility of a new Discourse of openness and honesty for LGBT people that appears to be on a proleptic edge of possibility.