Heteronormativity in Italy: Psychometric Characteristics of the Italian Version of the Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs Scale

Abstract

Introduction Heteronormativity describes a hierarchical societal system that encompasses heterosexuality and binary gender identity as normal and natural, defining boundaries of acceptable heterosexuality and gender identity. As no comprehensive measures of heteronormativity exist in Italy, this study evaluated the psychometric characteristics of an Italian version of the Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (HABS), a measure assessing essential and binary beliefs about sex and gender and normative behaviors. Methods Five hundred sixty-four cisgender heterosexual and sexual and gender minority individuals, ranging from 18 to 77 years of age (M = 34.66, SD = 11.13), were recruited in 2020 to participate in an online cross-sectional survey on heteronormativity, homonegativity, authoritarianism, intolerance of ambiguity, openness to experience, and religiosity. Results Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original 2-factor model had adequate fit to the Italian data. However, although appropriately fit to the data, 4 items showed a loading below .40. Criterion and discriminant validity were fully confirmed, as heteronormativity positively correlated with homonegativity, authoritarianism, intolerance of ambiguity, and religiosity, and negatively with openness to experience; all these correlations were below .60. Furthermore, the results indicated that male gender and heterosexual cisgender individuals showed higher levels of heteronormativity than female gender and sexual and gender minority individuals. Conclusions This study offers evidence of the validity and reliability of an Italian version of the HABS, providing researchers with a measure to assess heteronormativity in the Italian context. Policy Implications Assessing heteronormative attitudes and beliefs may help to make societal institutions more inclusive.

Behavior without beliefs: Profiles of heteronormativity and well-being among heterosexual and non-heterosexual university students in Chile

“…Habarth (2014) thus proposed that heteronormativity comprises two dimensions: Essentialist beliefs about the binary nature of sex and gender (Essentialism), and attitudes derived from these beliefs regarding expected behaviors of people as man or woman, individually and in relationships (Normative behavior). This two-dimensional structure of heteronormativity is supported by psychometric evidence from Italy (Scandurra et al, 2021) and Chile (Alarcón et al, manuscript under review). Other research has linked heteronormativity to personality traits (e.g., openness to experience), political attitudes (e.g., right-wing authoritarianism), sexual prejudice, and demographic variables such as sexual orientation and gender (Habarth, 2014;Habarth et al, 2019a,b;Ray and Parkhill, 2021;Scandurra et al, 2021).…”

“…This two-dimensional structure of heteronormativity is supported by psychometric evidence from Italy (Scandurra et al, 2021) and Chile (Alarcón et al, manuscript under review). Other research has linked heteronormativity to personality traits (e.g., openness to experience), political attitudes (e.g., right-wing authoritarianism), sexual prejudice, and demographic variables such as sexual orientation and gender (Habarth, 2014;Habarth et al, 2019a,b;Ray and Parkhill, 2021;Scandurra et al, 2021). Further explorations of heteronormativity posit that its nature transcends the realm of sexuality and gender and involve other identity markers and life conditions such as family structure, socioeconomic status, and ethnic origin (Seal, 2019;Pollitt et al, 2021).…”

Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Youth: The Influence of Rural and Urban Contexts on the Process of Building Identity and Disclosure

“…The minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003) postulated that sexual minorities experience unique stressors related to their sexual minority identity and negatively impact their health (Scandurra et al, 2020c(Scandurra et al, , 2021. Particularly, the minority stress theory distinguishes two types of stressors: distal stressors, which are external, such as prejudice or discriminatory events, and proximal stressors, which are internal stressors, negative internalized self-experiences such as internalized homophobia or transphobia, and psychological distress (Meyer, 2003).…”

Heteronormativity and the Justification of Gender Hierarchy: Investigating the Archival Data From 16 European Countries

“…Heteronormativity has been strictly related to sexism and sexual stigma and in particular to homonegativity (HN), which is defined as negative attitudes toward sexual minorities based on monitoring divergence from traditional masculine and feminine roles (Habarth, 2015 ; Scandurra et al, 2020 ). López-Sáez et al ( 2020 ) found sexism and HN to be stronger, and resistance to heteronormativity to be lower, among groups higher in the gender hierarchy.…”