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Correlates of a Single-Item Indicator Versus a Multi-Item Scale of Outness About Same-Sex Attraction

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Abstract

In this study, we investigated if a single-item indicator measured the degree to which people were open about their same-sex attraction (“out”) as accurately as a multi-item scale. For the multi-item scale, we used the Outness Inventory, which includes three subscales: family, world, and religion. We examined correlations between the single- and multi-item measures; between the single-item indicator and the subscales of the multi-item scale; and between the measures and internalized homonegativity, social attitudes towards homosexuality, and depressive symptoms. In addition, we calculated Tjur’s R 2 as a measure of predictive power of the single-item indicator, multi-item scale, and subscales of the multi-item scale in predicting two health-related outcomes: depressive symptoms and condomless anal sex with multiple partners. There was a strong correlation between the single- and multi-item measures (r = 0.73). Furthermore, there were strong correlations between the single-item indicator and each subscale of the multi-item scale: family (r = 0.70), world (r = 0.77), and religion (r = 0.50). In addition, the correlations between the single-item indicator and internalized homonegativity (r = −0.63), social attitudes towards homosexuality (r = −0.38), and depression (r = −0.14) were higher than those between the multi-item scale and internalized homonegativity (r = −0.55), social attitudes towards homosexuality (r = −0.21), and depression (r = −0.13). Contrary to the premise that multi-item measures are superior to single-item measures, our collective findings indicate that the single-item indicator of outness performs better than the multi-item scale of outness.

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Acknowledgments

The Structural Interventions to Lower Alcohol-related STI/HIV Risk (SILAS) Study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, funding number R01AA016270-01A1. All research was conducted with the approval of the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, 7000 Fannin, Suite 2620, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    J. Michael Wilkerson

  2. Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Syed W. Noor

  3. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Dylan L. Galos & B. R. Simon Rosser

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  1. J. Michael Wilkerson
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  2. Syed W. Noor
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  3. Dylan L. Galos
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Correspondence to J. Michael Wilkerson.

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Wilkerson, J.M., Noor, S.W., Galos, D.L. et al. Correlates of a Single-Item Indicator Versus a Multi-Item Scale of Outness About Same-Sex Attraction. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1269–1277 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0605-2

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