Intrapersonal and interpersonal manifestations of antilesbian and gay prejudice: An application of personal construct theory.

Abstract

This study extended research on prejudice against lesbian and gay (LG) persons by examining theoretically grounded links between intrapersonal and interpersonal manifestations of such prejudice. On the basis of G. A. Kelly’s (1955/1991a, 1955/1991b) conceptualization of threat, the authors operationalized intrapersonal homophobia, or LG threat, as the extent to which the notion of being LG was perceived to cause undesirable change in the construal of self. Consistent with hypotheses, results with 175 participants indicated that level of LG threat was correlated positively with anti-LG attitudes. Furthermore, LG threat moderated the link of anti-LG attitudes with positive self-perception and self-presentation such that for persons with high levels of LG threat, anti-LG attitudes were related positively, whereas for persons with low levels of LG threat, anti-LG attitudes were related negatively to positive self-perception and self-presentation. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts to reduce anti-LG prejudice are explored, and directions for future research are discussed.