Development of the Acceptance towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Scale

Shubham Singhal

Abstract: This study describes the stepwise development of the Acceptance Towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Scale in the Indian context. Indian society has a strong focus on collectivism, differentiating it from the western culture of individualism. An open-ended survey, followed by focused group discussions were conducted to understand the attitude, behaviour, and opinions towards the LGBT community. The results of the qualitative study helped in the formulation of a close-ended survey. Further, exploratory factor analysis was deployed on the results of the close-ended survey. This yielded a scale with an 18-item distribution among three acceptance measuring parameters: knowledge and awareness; perception of human rights; and inclusion in daily life, which demonstrate multidimensional aspects of acceptance in India. The three parameters were strongly correlated with each other implying strong interdependence of these parameters.

Keywords: LGBT Acceptance, Homophobia, Indian culture, Collectivistic society