1. Safety is a concern for homosexuals on college campuses. FBI
(2005) data show that 13.8% of hate crimes were based on
sexual orientation. The purpose of this study was to measure
homophobia and to identify correlates of homophobia. One-
hundred-and-six undergraduates completed a Likert-scale
questionnaire including a homophobia scale (Larsen et al.,
1980). As expected, men were more homophobic than
women. Age, year in school, and athletic status were not
correlated to homophobia but sexual orientation and
religiousness were. Homophobia scores predicted
behavioral intentions to support homosexual rights and sign
petitions on behalf of homosexuals. Two-thirds of the
sample had scores indicating an overall positive-attitude
toward homosexuals. To improve the college climate for
homosexual students, interventions should focus on men’s
attitudes.
Participants
 51 males, 53 females, 2 unidentified
 Age M=21.31 SD=3.83
 90% heterosexual (96), 6% bisexual (6), 3% gay/lesbian (3), and 1 unidentified.
 Recruited from small liberal arts college
Measures
 The Homophobic Behavior of Student Scale (Van de Ven, Bornholt, & Bailey, 1996)
• Measures how likely someone would sign a gay/lesbian rights petition
• Four item likert scale “1= Definitely false, 5= Definitely true”
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = .81
 Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Scale (Larsen, 1980)
• Measures positive and negative attitudes towards homosexuals
• 20 item likert scale “1= Definitely false, 5= Definitely true”
• Reliability: alpha coefficient .= 95
 One item asking religious involvement
Procedure
Participants were recruited as a convenience sample by students in our Health Psychology class.
They read and signed a consent form. Once they agreed to participate they were given a survey
to complete that took approximately 15 minutes. After the survey they were debriefed.
The term ‘homophobia’ is still used today in health research to describe
heterosexuals who harbor fears, hatred, and anger toward those who are not
heterosexual (Kitzinger, 1996). However the more recent term ‘heterosexism’
conceptualizes oppression as an ideological system that denies, derogates, or
penalizes any non-heterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or
community (Kitzinger, 2000).
Homophobia and heterosexism are hot topics in our country and on our
campuses. In 2003 a report showed that 20% of all respondents feared for their
physical safety because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and 51%
concealed their sexual orientation or gender identity to avoid intimidation.
They also found that 43% of the students considered the climate of their
campus to be homophobic (Rankin, 2003).
At one time the focus of the health sciences were to cure homosexuality,
however the emphasis has shifted and is now concerned largely with the
mental and physical effects of oppression or homophobia and heterosexism.
Health research has examined the associations between anti-gay
discrimination and mental health (Meyer, 1995), sexual development (Dupras,
1994), alcoholism or drug abuse (Finnegan & Cook, 1984), as well as other
health concerns associated with being a sexual minority.
In this study I tried to specify what the differences are between participants
who score high and low on the homophobic and behavior toward homosexual
scales. I had predictions that male athletes would score higher on the
homophobic scale than male non-athletes, that males and females would
differ significantly on the homophobic scale, that older students and
upperclassmen would score lower on the homophobia scale, and that the
higher the participants scored on religious involvement the higher the
homophobia score would be.
Larsen, K. S., Reed, M., & Hoffman, S., 1980. Attitudes of heterosexuals toward homosexuality: A Likert-type scale
and construct validity. Journal of Sex Research, 16(3), 245-257.
Kitzinger, C., 1996. Speaking of oppression: Psychology, politics, and the language of power. In: E.D. Rothblum and
L.A. Bond, eds. Preventing Heterosexism and Homophobia. London: Sage Publications, 3–19.
Kitzinger, C., 2000. Heterosexism. In: A.E. Kazdin, ed. Encyclopedia of Psychology. Vol. 4, Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association and Oxford University Press, 122–124.
Rankin, R. Susan, 2003. Campus Climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People: A National
Perspective. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Report.
Meyer, I.H., 1995. Minority stress and mental health in gay men. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36 (1), 38–
56.
Dupras, A., 1994. Internalized homophobia and psychosexual adjustment among gay men. Psychological Reports,
75 (1), 23–28.
Finnegan, D.G. and Cook, D., 1984. Special issues affecting the treatment of gay male and lesbian alcoholics.
Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1, 85–98.
Spring, J.H. 2001. The American School, 1642–2000. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Anderssen, N. (2002). Does contact with lesbians and gays lead to friendlier attitudes? A two-year longitudinal
study. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 12, 124–136.
Wright, L. W., & Cullen, J. M. (2001). Reducing college students’ homophobia, erotophobia, and conservatism
levels through a human sexuality course. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 26, 328–333.
Abstract
Introduction
Results
References
Attitudes
Toward
Homosexuals
Behaviors of
Students
Age Year Athletic
Identity
Religious
Involvement
Attitudes
Toward
Homosexuals
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
.757
.000
.115
.275
-.099
.337
-.418
.000
-.251
.014
Behaviors of
Students
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
.020
.845
-.131
.183
-.280
.004
-.218
.027
Method
Supported by the New Hampshire IDeA Network of Biological Research Excellence (NH-INBRE) NIH Grant Number 1P20RR030360-01 from
the INBRE Program of the National Center for Research Resources
It’s Mostly About Sex: Women are Less Homophobic and More Likely to
Petition for Homosexual Rights
Erin Faith Page & Heather Frasier Chabot
New England College, Henniker, NH
Attitude Toward Homosexuals Behaviors of Students
Sex Varsity Athlete Mean Standard Deviation Mean Standard Deviation
Male Yes
No
Total
93.81
103.10
97.85
23.41
27.38
25.35
4.64
4.68
4.65
1.40
1.82
1.56
Female Yes
No
Total
121.20
125.19
124.02
20.10
16.62
17.60
5.73
6.10
5.99
1.09
1.26
1.21
Total Yes
No
Total
103.83
117.30
111.61
25.73
23.43
25.20
5.01
5.60
5.33
1.39
1.62
1.54
I calculated correlation coefficients to determine the relationship between
age, year in school, athletic identity, religious involvement and attitudes
toward homosexuals with behaviors of students (see Table 1).
I also conducted two 2X2 ANOVA analyses to assess sex and athletic status on
attitudes and behavioral intentions toward homosexual (see Table 2 for group
means). The only significant finding was a main effect of sex.
Age and year in school did not predict scores of homophobia or behaviors on
behalf of homosexuals. A strong athletic identity and/or religious
involvement correlated with higher homophobia scores and lower likelihood
of behaviors on behalf of homosexuals. Overall, males scored significantly
higher on the homophobia scale and were significantly less likely to sign
petitions on behalf of homosexuals.
Table 1
Correlations of Attitudes and Behaviors
Table 2
2X2 ANOVA Means for Sex by Athletic Status on Attitudes and Behaviors toward Homosexuals
Discussion
If one of the primary responsibilities of schooling is to prepare all
children to live in a diverse society (Spring, 2001), then we need to include
all children. Colleges need to find ways to disrupt heterosexist and
homophobic discourse and instead create debates that address issues of
sexual orientation and gender identity in institutional policies, course
curricula, and class discussions.
Many studies have found that stereotypes decrease as individuals get to
know out-group members (e.g., Anderssen, 2002), we should encourage
LGBT clubs to work with other campus clubs on important student issues,
using super-ordinate goals to increase visibility. Homophobia is
correlated with a lack of knowledge of sexual information (Wright &
Cullen, 2001), so a future study could investigate adding Human Sexuality
courses to the general requirements for college students. Our study, along
with past research, shows that males overall have significantly higher
scores on the homophobia scale, this should encourage future research to
focus on how we can cause change in this specific group of students.
By improving the climate for LGBT students in classes and on campuses,
we can contribute to the academic success and personal development of
every student.