Abstract
This study examined the proportion of the individuals who experienced negative impacts on daily lives resulted from public debates on the legalization of same-sex relationships and related factors in Taiwan. Data provided by 1370 participants recruited through a Facebook advertisement were analyzed. Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing negative impact of public debates on daily lives, gender, age, sexual orientation, the number of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) friends, and perceived population’s acceptance of homosexuality. The results showed that 39.5% of participants reported the negative impacts on their occupational or academic performance; 34.2% reported the negative impact on friendship; 37.7% reported the negative impact on family relationship; and 57.4% reported the negative impact on mood or sleep quality. Non-heterosexual participants were more likely to report negative impacts of public debates on all domains of daily lives than heterosexual ones. The number of LGB friends was positively associated with negative impacts of public debates on all domains of daily lives. Participants who were 20–29 years old were more likely to report negative impacts of public debates on the domains of family relationship and mood/sleep quality than those who were 40 or older. Participants who were 30–39 years old were more likely to report negative impacts of public debates on the domain of mood/sleep quality than those who were 40 or older. Males were less likely to report the negative impact on their mood/sleep quality than females. Perceiving population’s acceptance for homosexuality were negatively associated with negative impacts of public debates on the domains of occupational/academic performance, family relationship and mood/sleep quality.
Highlights
The present study showed that 57.4% of participants reported the negative impact of public debates on legalizing same-sex relationship on mood or sleep quality, and 34.2%, 37.7%, and 39.5% of participants reported negative impacts on friendship, family relationship and occupational or academic performance, respectively
The present study found that participants who were 20–29 years old were more likely to report negative impacts of public debates on the domains of family relationship and mood/sleep quality than those who were 40 or older
The results of this study indicated that a high proportion of people in Taiwan suffered from negative impacts on daily lives resulted from the public debates on legalizing same-sex relationship, especially those who were non-heterosexual, friendly to sexual minority and young
Summary
The ban on same-sex relationships is a structural-level discrimination that denies non-heterosexual individuals, including lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), pansexual, asexual, and unsure individuals, legal, financial, health, and other benefits associated with marriage [1,2,3]. The ban on same-sex relationships can negatively affect health of non-heterosexual people. 28 countries and regions have legalized same-sex relationship in the past three decades [6]. The results of previous studies have indicated that legalizing same-sex relationships has a positive effect on the health of LGB individuals, including reduced discrimination [7,8] and psychological, social, and health benefits to non-heterosexual individuals [9,10]
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