Modelos Predictivos de Homonegatividad Internalizada en Estudiantes de Ciencias de la Salud

Abstract

The aims of this paper were to describe and predict the level of internalized homonegativity, considering variables on socio-demographic data, sexual life, social life, and clinic aspects. An interview questionnaire and the Internalized Homonegativity Scale were applied to a non-probability sample of 231 students of health sciences; 121 were women and 103 men. Ordinal regression models were calculated._Low internalized homonegativity was found in 38% of participants, ambiguity in 45%, and rejection in 17%. The HNI-16 total score correlated with sexual orientation, religion, and having gay friends. The factor of rejection toward the public manifestation of homosexuality correlated with having gay friends, gender, self-defined sexual orientation, religion, and number of sexual partners. The factor of rejection toward own homosexual feelings, desires, and identity correlated with self-defined sexual orientation, religion, number of sexual partners, and sexually active years. The factor related to the qualification of homosexual persons as promiscuous persons correlated with self-defined sexual orientation, having started couple sexual life, religion, and sexually active years. The variables that predicted lower internalized homonegativity were non-heterosexual orientation, religious adscription different from Christian and Catholic, and having gay friends. Additionally, female gender predicted greater acceptance toward the public manifestation of homosexuality, and having started couple sexual life predicted greater stigmatization of homosexuals as promiscuous persons. It is discussed that in these relationships are involved aspects of congruence with constructed personal identity, positive experience with the stigmatized object, and a cultural attitude that stigmatizes male homosexuality more than female homosexuality. Among these university students, once they have started their couple sexual life, their greater certainty on the opinion of that homosexual persons are promiscuous and incapable of intimacy might respond to a projective defense mechanism triggered by heterosexist values, which put sexuality at the service of reproduction and parenting, and not at the service of experimentation and pleasure. It is concluded that the rejection level is considerable, and thus it is suggested working on these variables in the workshops of acceptance toward sexual diversity.