Scale Overview
The Non-Heterosexist Mental Health Organizational Climate Scale – NHMHOCS was developed by Kathleen J. Bieschke, Connie R. Matthews (2003). It is designed to measure Non-heterosexist organizational climate in mental health settings. The scale is intended for use with Mental health agency staff and therapists.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 12 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Completely untrue, 2 = Mostly untrue, 3 = Somewhat untrue, 4 = Neutral / Undecided, 5 = Somewhat true, 6 = Mostly true, 7 = Completely true.
The scale includes 4 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 12 to 84. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Non-Heterosexist Climate (Highly Heterosexist/Unsupportive): 12 – 35
- Moderate Non-Heterosexist Climate: 36 – 60
- High Non-Heterosexist Climate (Highly Affirming/Supportive): 61 – 84
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified in source text.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.