Austrian medical students’ attitudes towards male and female homosexuality: A comparative survey

Abstract

The attitudes of health-care professionals and medical students towards male and female homosexuality are of practical relevance and have increasingly become a topic of scientific research. Comparative investigations between medical students and other student groups have not yet been conducted. To assess the attitudes of Austrian medical students towards homosexuality and to compare these with the attitudes of students of politics and veterinary medicine. Students of medicine (122), politics (145), and veterinary medicine (153) completed a questionnaire consisting of validated instruments assessing anti-homosexual attitudes, items assessing knowledge on homosexual issues, and basic demographic information. Participants' attitudes were predominantly positive. For all instruments, two-way analyses of covariance revealed significant influences of participants' sex and study major: students of medicine and veterinary medicine held more negative attitudes than students of politics, and males were more prejudiced than females. Overall, attitudes towards male and female homosexuality were balanced, but male students of politics and veterinary medicine were more prejudiced towards male than female homosexuality. A significant influence of participants' sex (favoring females) was observed in knowledge of homosexual issues. Although neutrality and empathy are considered vital in the doctor-patient relationship, medical students revealed more negative attitudes than students of politics did, the latter's attitudes being similar to those of students of veterinary medicine. These findings suggest that educational and correcting interventions are required in medical training.