Development and Psychometric Properties of the Hate-Motivated Behavior Checklist (HMBC)

Abstract

Hate-motivated behavior (HMB) in criminal and noncriminal forms is a public health dilemma. This study is an advanced measurement of the perpetration of HMB through development of the Hate-Motivated Behavior Checklist (HMBC). Through a cross-sectional online-administered survey of adults ( N = 289), we examined: (a) factor structure and internal consistency of HMBC behaviors, (b) descriptive patterns of targeted groups and motivations for HMB, and (c) correlates of HMBC behaviors. Findings support a single-factor HMBC behaviors score with high internal consistency. HMB based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and sex were the most commonly endorsed. The most highly endorsed motivations for HMB were perceived intrusion and perceived threat. Antigay prejudice, antilesbian prejudice, positive views of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Nazis were among significant correlates of HMB perpetration. The HMBC represents a preliminary research measurement tool for the assessment of HMB in need of further psychometric study.

A Psychometric Investigation of the Hate-Motivated Behavior Checklist

“…To begin testing the qualities of an HMBC behaviors scale using the collapsed binary items, we tabulated a total score and conducted between-groups comparisons by key demographics. Consistent with findings from the HMBC development study (Cramer et al, 2021), men reported more HMB compared to women, and this disparity was moderately sized. Contrary to the development study, we did not find differences in HMB by race; however, we needed to collapse race into two groups (White vs. racial minority) due to sample size limitations.…”

“…HMBC. We administered the full HMBC (Cramer et al, 2021), including all three sections. Section one featured 26 behavioral items encompassing violence (e.g., hit/punched a person), property crime (e.g., wrote graffiti), and noncriminal microaggressive acts (e.g., told jokes).…”

“…Using an American community adult sample, Cramer and colleagues (2021) reported the most prominent findings regarding the HMBC. With the inclusion of two additional behaviors suggested by participants, the HMBC yields a single-factor behaviors total score (α = .96).…”

“…The Hate-Motivated Behavior Checklist (HMBC; Cramer et al, 2021) is a self-report inventory describing lifetime bias-motivated actions comprising three sections: (1) behaviors, (2) characteristics of the victims driving the actions in Section 1, and (3) possible motivations for the behaviors contained in Section 1. Authors developed the HMBC to provide a comprehensive assessment tool for an otherwise piecemeal literature on subtypes of HMB (e.g., population-specific microaggressions) and broad interdisciplinary scope of potential motivations for such acts.…”

“…We used both community-dwelling and college samples because a range of HMB is common in both groups (see literature review). Using both samples allows us to test the generalizability of the HMBC beyond its pilot (Cramer et al, 2021). We had the following hypotheses (H) and exploratory research questions (RQ): H1: We posited CFA factor structure support for the single-factor HMBC behaviors scale.…”