Internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Attitude toward Muslim Proximity Index (AMPI): a measure of social distance

The Attitude toward Muslim Proximity Index (AMPI) is a six‐item scale that uses tolerance to different degrees of social distance to assess prejudice towards Muslims. It was tested on 1777 teenage school children from northern England who indicated their religion as either ‘Christian’ or ‘no religion’, and demonstrated good internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .81). The index was higher among pupils who supported the views of the British National Party and among those who believed that British Muslims should adopt Western culture; but lower among those who knew Muslims or had Muslim friends. The AMPI is a useful measure of Islamophobic attitudes that does not rely on responses to specific events or on detailed knowledge of the Muslim religion.