Homonegative Attitudes Research Articles

What predicts homonegativity in Southeast Asian countries? Evidence from the World Values Survey

ABSTRACT Negative attitudes towards lesbian women and gay men continue to exist in Southeast Asian countries. This study identified predictors of homonegativity that are generally consistent across the countries in the region. Using data from the seventh round of World Values Survey, we obtained parsimonious country-level logistic regression models for six of the 11 Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia (n = 3,200), Malaysia (n = 1,313), Myanmar (n = 1,200), the Philippines (n = 1,200), Thailand (n = 1,500), and Vietnam (n = 1,200). Results suggest that four values and one demographic variable are consistent predictors of homonegativity in Southeast Asia. Endorsements of equality, choice, and agnosticism were found to be consistent predictors of lower levels of homonegative attitudes, while the opposite was observed for endorsement of relativism and older people. That there are some consistent cultural predictors of lower levels of homonegativity may suggest a common emancipative logic in Southeast Asia. On the whole, however, the findings suggest that there may be no uniform (Southeast) Asian values system that constitutes sexual prejudice. This foregrounds the need for more contextually-sensitive and culturally-informed models of homonegativity to understand why negative attitudes persist in some countries but not in others, and to also guide the crafting of interventions that are more relevant to each country.

Chemsex users in Czechia: EMIS survey.

Chemsex is a phenomenon highly relevant to public health concerns. Our primary aim is to describe the Czech chemsex scene regarding substances used, sexual behaviour, mental health, sexual life satisfaction, internalization of homonegative attitudes, and prevalent chemsex patterns. The data from the European Men Who Have Sex With Men Internet Survey (EMIS) 2017 were used. The mental health of chemsex users was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ4), internalized homonegativity was measured using the Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale. A sample of 87 men who have sex with men (MSM) chemsex users and a comparison group of 261 MSM were selected from the total sample of 1,688 respondents. Mann-Whitney and χ2 tests were used to compare groups. Active chemsex users made up 5% of the sample (87 of 1,688), with an average age of 37 years. Chemsex users were more likely to engage in condomless sex with non-steady partners (χ2 = 46.8, p < 0.001), and had dramatically more STIs, such as HIV (χ2 = 52.9, p < 0.001), HCV (χ2 = 25.9, p < 0.001), and syphilis (χ2 = 41.5, p < 0.001). Chemsex users frequently injected drugs (n = 19, 20%). More than half (n = 48; 55%) of chemsex users had sober sex in the last 4 weeks. Chemsex culture was associated with riskier substance use, both in terms of mode and frequency. The mental health of chemsex users in our sample did not differ significantly from the comparison group (χ2 = 0.2, p < 0.7). Chemsex users did not conceal their sexual identity more often than the comparison group, on the contrary, 69% (n = 59) of them were out to most significant others, compared to 53% (n = 134) in the comparison group (χ2 = 8.8, p < 0.05). In addition, we did not find differences in the degree of internalized homonegativity (χ2 = 0.9, p < 0.4). Chemsex users were clearly and significantly more satisfied with their sex life than the comparison group (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.001). In our sample, chemsex use was not associated with a negative impact on health or wellbeing. Our results suggest that chemsex is not a homogeneous phenomenon. Many different patterns and subcultures exist, some of them are riskier, some safer than others.

Silencing Queerness – Community and Family Relationships with Young Ethnic Queers in Aotearoa New Zealand

The contribution that family and community make to the lives of ethnic young people is well documented. However, the support that queer ethnic young people receive from family and community is compromised by homophobic attitudes and behaviors influenced by misinformation, religious beliefs, and cultural practices. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the absence of research on young ethnic queers suggests that little is known about how this group fares in a close and culturally bound ethnic community within a predominantly white society. This in-depth qualitative study of 43 queer ethnic young people examined how community attitudes and behaviors toward queerness impacted their family and community relationships. Gossip, rumors, silence, stigma, and respectability politics resulted in gender silencing and monitoring, rejection, and self-exclusion. These behaviors exacerbated feelings of cultural alienation in a society where ethnic peoples are already racialized and minoritized, and where the lack of support systems compound an unsafe environment for queer ethnic young people. Homonegative attitudes within ethnic communities require education and interventions at the interpersonal as well as communal level. Families need professional support to address their shame toward children’s queerness and to consider the impact of prioritizing the politics of respectability over the wellbeing of their child.

Greek High School Teachers' Homonegative Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Parent Families

Greek High School Teachers' Homonegative Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Parent Families

The Predictive Role of Ideological, Personality and Psychopathological Factors in Homonegative Attitudes in Italy

The Predictive Role of Ideological, Personality and Psychopathological Factors in Homonegative Attitudes in Italy

Beyond the rainbow: Attitudes of Brazilian consumers regarding homoaffective advertisements

Although there is societal pressure to accept diversity, negative attitudes towards minority groups such as gay men and lesbian women, especially in Brazil, remain widespread. The objective of this study was to examine whether gender, religiosity, and homonegative attitudes are associated with evaluations of homoaffective advertisements, brand, and purchase intentions. A survey with 456 university students from southern Brazil was carried out. The results demonstrate that women have more positive attitudes towards homoaffective advertisements, brands, and purchase intention. Religiosity also interferes with the attitude towards the ads and the attitude towards the brand. When analyzing religiosity and homonegativity by gender in attitudes towards the advertisement, brand, and purchase intention, it is observed that, for men, religion does not interfere in the attitude towards the brand and in the purchase intention. Limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are outlined.

Testing the Disgust-Based Mechanism of Homonegative Attitudes in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Negative attitudes and stigmatization can originate from the perception of a disease-related threat. Following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is often suggested that incidents of discriminatory behavior are the result of defense mechanisms aimed at avoiding pathogens. According to the behavioral immune system theory, people are motivated to distance themselves from individuals who show signs of infection, or who are only heuristically associated with a disease, primarily because of the disgust they evoke. In this paper we focus on negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians who are among social groups that have been persistently framed as “unclean.” In our correlational study (N = 500 heterosexual participants; Polish sample data collected during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Poland, in March/April 2020) we tested moderation models derived from the behavioral immune system theory. Specifically, we investigated whether perceived vulnerability to disease and perceived threat of contracting COVID-19 moderate the relation between disgust and homonegativity. We found that sexual disgust (but not pathogen nor moral disgust) predicted homonegative attitudes. This effect was stronger for participants expressing higher levels of perceived vulnerability to disease but was not dependent on the perception of the COVID-19 threat. The results reaffirm previous evidence indicating a pivotal role of disgust in disease-avoidance mechanisms. They also point to functional flexibility of the behavioral immune system by demonstrating the moderating role of perceived vulnerability to disease in shaping homonegative attitudes. Finally, they show that the threat of COVID-19 does not strengthen the relationship between disgust and homonegativity.

Adaptation and Validation of the Evasive Attitudes of Sexual Orientation Scale into Spanish

ABSTRACT This article presents an instrumental study to validate the adaptation of the Evasive Attitudes of Sexual Orientation Scale (EASOS) to Spanish. This instrument has been shown to be useful in detecting the potential lack of awareness about the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) people among psychology professionals and its possible relationship to contemporary homonegative attitudes. The 596 heterosexual psychology students who participated were given an adaptation into Spanish (back translation). A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to study the fit to the factorial structure of the original scale (aversive heterosexism, institutional heterosexism, and heterosexual privilege). The internal consistency of the subscales was adequate (.70-.83). The convergent validity showed positive correlations and significant predictive levels between the EASOS and various attitudinal scales and sociodemographic variables. The findings offer evidence that the EASOS is an adequate instrument to evaluate LGBQ-negativity, particularly in the field of psychosocial intervention.

Asian LGBTQ+ Sexual Health: an Overview of the Literature from the Past 5 Years

The goal of this review is to provide an overview of recent research about the sexual health of Asian LGBTQ+ in Asia and the Asian diaspora. This includes research about sexual health communication and health care, attitudes and values, and mental health among LGBTQ+ Asians. HIV/AIDS risk and prevention among gay men, men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender women dominates the current research landscape. Studies on sexual health care and communication have shown that Asian LGBTQ+ individuals are often reluctant to disclose their sexual orientation to healthcare providers and to family due to relatively conservative family values and homonegative attitudes throughout Asia and the Asian diaspora. This may be related to internalized homophobia and transphobia, experiences of sexual violence, and poor mental health outcomes for many Asian LGBTQ+ individuals. While many studies have recently been conducted examining Asian LGBTQ+ sexual health, there are gaps in the literature about sexual minority cisgender women, transgender men, adolescents, and asexual individuals. Future research should also take a more holistic approach to Asian LGBTQ+ sexual health, rather than primarily focusing on disease risk.

Homonegativity and the Black Church: Is Congregational Variation the Missing Link?

The Black church in the United States has historically functioned as a bastion for civil rights; however, it may also be a source of pain and suffering for sexual minorities. To examine the influence of individual and congregational variables on attitudes toward same-sex sexuality in the Black church, we collected a sample of 219 participants from 15 randomly selected congregations. Results of three hierarchical linear models indicated that congregation- and individual-level variables emerged as equally important predictors of individuals’ attitudes toward same-sex sexuality. Individual-level religiousness and congregation-level education emerged as significant predictors of homonegativity. Our results suggest that congregations may play a role in enacting homonegative attitudes. We encourage counseling psychologists working with religious Black sexual minority clients to help clients consider characteristics of congregations (e.g., education) and individual religious practices (e.g., overzealous service attendance) that may signal homonegativity. We encourage further work examining the influence of congregational factors on congregants’ attitudes.

Revisiting the ‘Thai gay paradise’: Negative attitudes toward same-sex relations despite sexuality education among Thai LGBT students

ABSTRACTSchool settings are volatile and often violent for LGBT teens who are first coming to terms with their sexuality. We explored the attitudes of LGBT students in Thai secondary schools towards homosexuality. Students aged 12–19 years were surveyed in 393 public institutions providing secondary-school education in six regions of Thailand, selected by a multistage cluster sampling. Among 1088 LGBT-identified students, 378 (35%) reported negative attitudes toward homosexuality. Factors associated with homonegative attitudes in a multivariable logistic regression analysis were identifying as a transgender (Adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 2.5, 95% CI 1.5-4.1), having low academic performance (GPA scores of 2–3 [aOR 2.6, 95% CI 1.7-4.1] or less than 2 [aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-2.]), and attending sexuality education classes covering topics such as bullying LGBT students (aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-3.1) and safe homosexual practices (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.7-4.1). Sexuality education in its current form in Thai public schools may not be effective in reducing homonegative attitudes of LGBT-identified students. A more comprehensive sexuality education emphasising gender and rights along with strategies addressing social disparities due to sexual orientation is needed to enable Thai LGBT teens to accept their sexuality without shame and self-disrespect.

Homonegativity in Britain: Changing Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Relationships

Over recent decades, British attitudes towards same-sex relationships have become more accepting. However, results from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles show that, in 2010, around a fifth of 16–59-year-olds still viewed sex between two men or two women as ‘always wrong’. Using data from each edition of this survey (1990, 2000, 2010), we investigated which individuals are more likely to regard same-sex relationships as wrong and how this has changed over time. Using various measures of individual characteristics, the results showed sex, religiosity, ethnicity, education and whether someone has ever experienced same-sex attraction were most strongly associated with homonegative attitudes. We show that religiosity and ethnicity became more strongly associated with homonegativity between 1990 and 2010, with religiosity replacing education as the characteristic most associated with homonegativity by 2010; explanations for these changes are offered. Further results show that attitudes towards one night stands are also associated with attitudes towards same-sex relationships. This suggests that falling rates of homonegativity might (in part) be explained by a general liberalization in attitudes towards non-traditional sexual relationships.

The impact of homonegativity on gynephilic men's visual attention toward non-preferred sexual targets

Consistent with men's gender-specific patterns of sexual arousal, men tend to look longer at their preferred gender when viewing mixed-sex sexual stimuli. But gynephilic men do attend to males featured in sexual stimuli, and individual differences in negative affect may explain some variability in their sustained attention toward male targets. We explored the influence of homonegativity and affective reactions on visual attention toward sexual stimuli and subsequent feelings of sexual attraction. We sampled gynephilic men in two eye-tracking studies (Study 1: n = 49, Study 2: n = 38) that included measures of universalizing homonegativity, minoritizing homonegativity, and disgust to predict sustained visual attention and reported sexual attraction toward non-preferred targets in still-image and dynamic-video sexual stimuli. Greater feelings of universalizing homonegativity predicted less sustained attention toward solo non-preferred sexual targets. In dynamic stimuli depicting two non-preferred targets engaged in sexual intercourse, greater universalizing homonegativity predicted less sustained attention toward targets in the receptive role, but not in the insertive role. Greater feelings of universalizing homonegativity also predicted lower reported feelings of sexual attraction toward non-preferred targets. Results suggest that gynephilic men's attention and sexual attraction toward male sexual targets is influenced by homonegative attitudes and the target's sexual role.

Gender stereotypes and contact with gay men and lesbians: The mediational role of sexism and homonegativity

AbstractThis study is grounded in Allport's intergroup contact theory and Herek's sexual prejudice theory. We aimed at (a) investigating the mediational role of sexism and homonegativity on the relation between gender, age, and contact with gay and lesbian people with gender stereotypes about gay men and lesbians; and (b) replicating and corroborating the direct associations found in previous research among these variables. The present research used secondary data from a survey conducted by the Italian National Institute of Statistics and comprehending a representative sample of 5,863 Italian adults. The results from path analysis indicated that both homonegativity and sexism partially mediated the effect of gender and age on gender stereotypes, whereas they totally mediated the effect of contact with gay and lesbian persons. Findings suggest that reducing sexist and homonegative attitudes and increasing contact with gay and lesbian people may reduce stereotypical beliefs about homosexual people.

Reducing homonegativity among German adolescents: Results of a 6-week follow-up study

Bullying against lesbian and gay adolescents continues to be a problem in Western societies. Interventions to reduce homonegative attitudes could help to address bullying. We evaluated the effectiveness of a workshop against homonegativity in adolescents (N = 214) aged between 14 and 16 years in a pretest, posttest, follow-up design with a control group who participated in this workshop afterwards. Results revealed that the workshop reduced homonegativity in adolescents directly after the workshop, but not 6 weeks after the workshop. Moreover, we investigated predictors of the effectiveness of the workshop. Regression analyses revealed that the level of homonegativity 1 week prior to the workshop, gender role orientation, and religious denomination explained 28.6% of the variance in the reduction of homonegativity directly after the workshop. Based on the results, the effectiveness of one-time workshops is discussed.

Rejecting the West? Homonegative attitudes and political orientations in contemporary Eastern Europe

Homonegative attitudes are strikingly high in Eastern Europe, and a schism among an enlarged Europe. To understand this, we examine the comparative and over-time role of individual political orientations. Using the World Values Survey, we investigate how these relate to homonegativity over time (1995–2014) in eight Eastern European nations, compared to a sample of seven Western nations. Individuals in all nations who hold nationalist and authoritarian values and are unengaged in politics have stronger homonegative attitudes. National pride and support for democracy are particularly important for Eastern Europeans. Cleavages in democratic values and narratives may be increasingly important over time.

Using Electronic Contact to Reduce Homonegative Attitudes, Emotions, and Behavioral Intentions Among Heterosexual Women and Men: A Contemporary Extension of the Contact Hypothesis

The current study experimentally examined the potential for a contemporary extension of the contact hypothesis, known as electronic contact, or E-contact, to reduce sexual prejudice, intergroup anxiety, and avoidant behavioral intentions among heterosexuals. It also extended the sexual minority contact literature by examining the role of participant and interaction partner sex as a possible boundary condition of this contact–prejudice relationship. To test our hypotheses, 140 heterosexual female and male university students were randomly allocated to interact with a homosexual or heterosexual, female or male E-contact partner, in a collaborative and text-only online interaction before completing the outcome measures. Overall, the results demonstrated that interacting online with a female, as opposed to a male, homosexual E-contact partner reduced heterosexual men’s feelings of intergroup anxiety, which in turn was associated with lower sexual prejudice and outgroup avoidance. For heterosexual women, however, E-contact did not influence the outcome variables. In the context of sexual prejudice, these results suggest that E-contact may be particularly useful as a prejudice-reduction strategy among individuals who typically require it most: heterosexual men.

Mediated Contact With Gay Men as a Predictor of Modern Homonegativity: An Analysis of Exposure to Characters Appearing on Television Between 2000 and 2015

This study explored the relationship between exposure to television programs featuring gay male characters and homonegativity in a diverse adult sample. Specifically, this relationship was examined at both the program and character level. Participants (N = 120) responded to an online survey that asked about exposure to television shows known to feature gay male characters that aired between 2000 and 2015. Next, participants recalled specific characters from these programs before reporting their homonegative attitudes and beliefs. Results revealed that both viewing programs featuring gay male characters and recall of specific gay male characters decreased their negative attitudes toward gay men in society, irrespective of individual difference factors (e.g., religiosity, gender, close interpersonal contact with gay men). Results are discussed in terms of mediated intergroup contact theory.

Homonegative Attitudes and their Correlates Among Vietnamese College Students

This study investigated sex differences in homonegativity and their correlates among 197 Vietnamese college students (males = 49, females = 148, M = 20.9 years, SD = 2.9) in Ho Chi Minh City. The survey included Vietnamese-language versions of four scales measuring attitudes toward homosexuality (ATHS), traditional masculinity ideology, knowledge of homosexuality, and contact experiences with homosexuals. An exploratory factor analysis indicated a 3-factor structure for the ATHS: Homonegativity, Tolerance, and Positive Images. Male respondents reported significantly higher scores on homonegativity. Traditional masculinity ideology was positively related to females' homonegativity, but negatively correlated with tolerant attitudes of both males and females. Knowledge about homosexuality was negatively correlated with homonegativity. Media contact with homosexuals was negatively correlated with males' homonegativity, but positively correlated with both females and males' tolerant attitudes. Results suggest that future research develop a new scale to measure Vietnamese's homonegativity and that media contact as well as ample and accurate knowledge about homosexuality can alter homonegativity.

Homonegative Attitudes and Risk Behaviors for HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Sexually Active Men in the United States.

We examined associations between homonegative attitudes and HIV and other sexually transmitted infection (HIV/STI) risk behaviors among sexually active US men. We used the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (n = 10 403) and multivariable logistic regression models to examine homonegative attitudes in relation to condom use, number of past-year sex partners, HIV/STI testing, and STI diagnoses. Among men who had sex with men, homonegative attitudes were associated with lower odds of condom use during anal sex with women (before the past year) and past-year STI testing. Among men who had sex with men and women, homonegative attitudes were associated with lower odds of condom use during vaginal sex and sex with men, having 4 or more partners, and HIV testing ever. Among men who had sex with women, homonegative attitudes were associated with lower odds of condom use during vaginal sex and sex with men (before the past year), HIV testing ever, and contracting herpes, human papillomavirus, or syphilis. Homonegative attitudes may promote HIV/STI acquisition and transmission among sexually active men of all sexual orientations. Interventions should address homonegative attitudes in the United States.