Acceptance and Rejection Measure

The Acceptance and Rejection Measure Scale

Description

The Acceptance and Rejection Measure (Pollitt, Fish, & Watson, 2023) was developed to capture sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY)-specific aspects of family acceptance and rejection. Scale content was modified from the Family Acceptance Project (Abreu et al., 2022; Miller et al., 2020). The resulting 8-item measure was evaluated in a large online national sample of SGMY who had either disclosed or not disclosed their sexual and/or gender identities to parents. Factor analysis and reliability results were reported for these items. Limitations were noted, including the inability to assess the scale’s predictive validity.

Purpose

The purpose of this instrument is to contribute to research on sexual and gender minority youth family environments, in that both supportive and undermining behaviors must be considered.

Validity

No data is Available.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: Reliability was calculated for the rejecting (n items = 4; α = 0.88) and accepting (n items = 4; α = 0.82) items.

Factor Analysis

Confirmatory Factor Analysis: The model fit of the two latent factor model was acceptable. The one factor model fit the data poorly and was significantly worse than the two-factor model, Δχ2 = 6,244.34, Δdf = 1, p < .001, ΔCFI = −0.259, ΔTLI = −0.358. Measurement Invariance: The two-factor, negatively correlated model reflecting constructs of family acceptance and family rejection was equivalent across disclosure groups.

Instrument

• Test Type: Original

• Format: Items are rated on a 4-point scale from “never” to “often.” Participants can also respond with “doesn’t apply to me”, with these responses being coded as missing.

• Language Available: English

• Population Group: Human; Male; Female

• Age Group: Adolescence (13-17 yrs)

• Population Details: Location: United States, Respondents: Sexual and Gender Minority Youth (Ages 13-17)

• Test Methodology: Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Factor Analysis; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Measurement Invariance

Keywords

Family Acceptance; Family Rejection; Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, Adolescent Development; Developmental Measures; Family Relations; Social Acceptance; Family and Parenting Measures; Sexual Minority Groups

Authors

• Pollitt, Amanda M.

  • Author ORCID Identifier: 0000-0001-5428-2283

  • Affiliation: Northern Arizona University, Department of Health Sciences, Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative

  • Email: [email protected]

  • Correspondence Address: Northern Arizona University, Department of Health Sciences, Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative, 1395 S Knoles Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, 86011, [email protected]

• Fish, Jessica N.

  • Affiliation: University of Maryland Department of Family Science, Prevention Research Center

• Watson, Ryan J.

  • Affiliation: University of Connecticut Department of Human Development and Family Sciences

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: May use for Research/Teaching

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2023

References

Pollitt, A. M., Fish, J. N., & Watson, R. J. (2023). Measurement equivalence of family acceptance/rejection among sexual and gender minority youth by disclosure status. Journal of Family Psychology, 37(2), 195–202. doi:10.1037/fam0001056

Items of the Acceptance and Rejection Measure

Items

Parental and Caregiver Behavior Assessment

This section assesses the frequency of specific behaviors by parents or caregivers towards an individual.

Family Rejection

How often do your parents or caregivers:

• Taunt or mock you because you are an LGBTQ person?

• Say negative comments about you being an LGBTQ person?

• Say bad things about LGBTQ people in general?

• Make you feel like you are bad because you are an LGBTQ person?

Family Acceptance

How often do your parents or caregivers:

• Say that they like you as you are in regards to being an LGBTQ person?

• Say they were proud of you for being an LGBTQ person?

• Get involved in the larger LGBTQ community?

• Tell you that you are a role model as an LGBTQ person?

Rating Scale

Items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from “never” to “often.”