Changes in attitudes toward homosexuals

Cross-sectional data on the attitudes of Canadian university students, and their parents, indicate attitudes toward homosexuals have become increasingly tolerant and accepting over the past 14 years. Various experimental findings and self-attributions indicate the major cause of this change is increased contact with persons known to be homosexuals. Other factors, such as the evidence for biological origins of sexual orientation, and boomerang effects from hostility toward homosexuals also appear to have played a role.     

Racism, sexism, and erotophobia: attitudes of heterosexuals toward homosexuals

This investigation examines the differential power of explanation of a sexual conservatism theory of homophobia against a more general theory of intergroup prejudice. Forty-eight female and 31 male undergraduate introductory psychology students from a large Eastern university completed a survey assessing contemporary attitudes toward women, Blacks, and homosexuals, as well as their affective orientation towards sex. The results indicate that sexual conservatism, as measured by an affective dimension of erotophilia-erotophobia, and social prejudice, as measured by racist and sexist beliefs, are independent and equal predictors of antihomosexual sentiment. It is suggested that distinct etiological differences may exist in the development of the homophobic personality. Findings are discussed within the context of Herek's (1984) functional approach to understanding attitudes toward lesbians and gay men.     

Knowledge of and attitudes toward aging among non-elders: gender and race differences

Although the aging process begins at birth, fears about late adulthood can foster anxiety in younger cohorts about this time of life. This study examines the relationship between non-elderly subjects' (n = 884, 18-55 years) knowledge of and anxieties regarding personal aging and their gender and race. We hypothesized that non-elderly women and persons of color, those who will experience multiple jeopardy in their own late life, would report greater anxiety about their own aging process than did men and majority group members. Women did report lower income and education levels, less knowledge of aging, greater anxiety related to their own aging process, and more time involved in caregiving activities. People of color also differed from Caucasians in certain dimensions of knowledge and anxiety. Implications from these results include the creation of public educational strategies and the organization of women and minorities to more actively address the development and shape of age-related policies.     

Gender differences in self-regulation patterns and attitudes toward driving among older adults

The automobile is essential for many older adults to fulfill their daily needs, especially since many live where they lack access to public transit or other acceptable modes of transportation. Increased self-regulation is one way older drivers continue to drive safely and maintain mobility. This research considers whether self-regulation attitudes and patterns differ by gender. Results indicate that women and men report distinct patterns of self-regulation behaviors. Age, health status, and household status also interact with gender, influencing the extent of self-regulation. The results also show that women report lower levels of confidence in their driving skills than men, although the difference varies based on whether or not a woman lives alone. Implications of these results are considered for an aging population--particularly women--that over the coming decades will be more reliant on the automobile for transportation than ever before.     

Gender differences in knowledge and attitudes toward modern and traditional methods of child spacing in Malawi

This paper examines male-female differences in knowledge and attitudes towards traditional and modern methods of child spacing in Malawi, based on the survey on traditional methods of child spacing in Malawi which was conducted in 1988. The results show that most people in Malawi are knowledgeable about both traditional and modern methods of child spacing. In general more men than women report knowledge and practice of traditional methods. For modern methods, however, females are more knowledgeable than males of all the specific methods, with the exception of condoms. The greater knowledge by women of female-based modern contraceptives appears to be a manifestation of the exclusion of males from the family planning program. The high rates of knowledge do not translate into equivalent high rates of utilization for both modern and traditional methods of contraception. The study further demonstrates that, while women are involved in making decisions to use contraception, the proportion of men initiating such decisions is greater than that of women. This finding calls for family planning planners to think seriously about revising their target population to include men.     

Sex differences in mortality as a social indicator

Using a macro-sociological model, this paper argues that the status of women is an important determinant of sex mortality differences. This is done first by examining data from India which is known to have an excessively high level of female mortality. The examination is further extended by a pooled cross-section and time series analysis of the excess of female life expectancy over male life expectancy for 83 countries.     

Multiple dimensions of attitudes about homosexuality: development of a multifaceted scale measuring attitudes toward homosexuality

Attitudes toward homosexuality are complex. To get a comprehensive view on the attitudes of people, different dimensions need to be included in research. Based on a review of the literature, we distinguish five dimensions: acceptance of homosexuality in a general sense; attitude toward equal rights; reactions to homosexuality "at close quarters"; reactions to homosexuality in public; and so-called modern homonegativity. In a study on a representative sample of Dutch Defence personnel (N = 1,607) we tested this model. Structural equation modeling of several items measuring the attitude toward homosexuality offers a six factor solution. These six factors are more or less comparable to the five dimensions we distinguished. The dimension "reactions to homosexuality at close quarters" is, however, empirically split in a dimension on affective reactions to homosexuality and homosexual persons in general and a dimension on affective reaction to homosexual friends or acquaintances.     

Experiential versus rational training: a comparison of student attitudes toward homosexuality

Based on Epstein's (1994a) cognitive-experiential self-theory, two new training interventions were designed to teach students about gay, lesbian and bisexual issues. The efficacy of these theoretically based interventions was assessed in a short-term (7-week, three occasion) longitudinal study. Fifty undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: Rational Training, Experiential Training, or Control Group. A residualized change score procedure was used to analyze change in levels of sexual prejudice and affect across the three types of measurement (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up). A 3 (Rational Training, Experiential Training, Control Group) x 2 (Low Sexual Prejudice, High Sexual Prejudice) MANOVA revealed that after the training, participants in the Experiential Group (affective training) had more accepting attitudes toward homosexuality compared to the Control Group. In addition, participants in the Experiential Group experienced more positive affect compared to the Rational and Control Groups and experienced more negative affect compared to the Rational Group. Findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Trends in public attitudes toward educational spending

During the 1970s, only about half of the adult American population wanted to allocate more money to education. But in the 1980s, almost two-thirds of those surveyed have wanted to spend more on education. Using the 1972–86 NORC General Social Surveys (of which there are a dozen replications — each with about 1500 respondents), this paper outlines the sources of this increase in support for educational spending. Over time, while education has been consistently given a higher priority by members of younger birth cohorts, and respondents educated beyond high school, racial differences have narrowed and regional differences have been reversed. In this decade, whites and non-Southerners are increasingly supportive of more spending on education than they were earlier. Finally, while rural/urban differences on education as a national spending priority have remained, this trend is less independent of larger social forces than the others. These results imply that to be most effective in producing increased allocations from public sources, educators and their political supporters should recognize those particular segments of the population who may be most responsive to calls for increased funding.     

Sex differences in morbidity and mortality

Women have worse self-rated health and more hospitalization episodes than men from early adolescence to late middle age, but are less likely to die at each age. We use 14 years of data from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey to examine this paradox. Our results indicate that the difference in self-assessed health between women and men can be entirely explained by differences in the distribution of the chronic conditions they face. This is not true, however, for hospital episodes and mortality. Men with several smoking-related conditions--including cardiovascular disease and certain lung disorders--are more likely to experience hospital episodes and to die than women who suffer from the same chronic conditions, implying that men may experience more-severe forms of these conditions. While some of the difference in mortality can be explained by differences in the distribution of chronic conditions, an equally large share can be attributed to the larger adverse effects of these conditions on male mortality. The greater effects of smoking-related conditions on men's health may be due to their higher rates of smoking throughout their lives.     

Black masculinity matters in attitudes toward gay males

Recent work on attitudes toward homosexuals promotes the view that males typically have more negative attitudes than females; and African Americans have more negative attitudes than their white counterparts. However, among African Americans, women are thought to have the greatest negative attitudes because they perceive themselves as competing for a limited pool of black male partners. This study uses the National Black Politics Study to examine African American gender differences in attitudes toward homosexual men. Multivariate findings show that of the variables analyzed: (1) Among African American females, age, income, education, and urban residence are statistically significant; and (2) among African American males, frequency of religious attendance was the only statistically significant variable. It is, therefore, argued that black masculinity explains the gendered differences and that negative attitudes within the African American community toward gay men contribute to debilitating both the physical and mental health of the entire black community.     

Public attitudes toward gays and lesbians: trends and predictors

Public opinion about gay men and lesbians is a popular topic in both the popular press and academic journals. However, analyses of attitudinal trends are rare. Tracing changes in opinion polls on homosexuals in the United States between 1977 and 2003, the first part of the present study showed that public opinion of this minority group has become more positive over time. Part two of this research utilized a recent national survey to identify factors predicting anti-gay attitudes. The best predictors included respondents' sex, stance of anti-abortion and anti-women's equality, and religiosity. Implications for gay rights advocates were discussed.     

Sex differences in patterns of career mobility

Using the 1970 Census data, this paper examines differences by sex in patterns of intragenerational occupational mobility over a five year period (1965–1970) for two cohorts of white, U.S. men and women. The observed mobility patterns are separated into that part due to structural factors (i.e., the different distributions over occupational origins and destinations by sex) and that due to sex-related individual and group characteristics. Most of the observed differences in mobility patterns are found to be the result of occupational sex segregation.     

Sex differences in remarriage and spouse selection

This paper explores on an international basis the incidence of remarriage among total marriages, the levels and differences in remarriage rates among widowed and divorced males and females, and differences between males and females in spouse selection according to the previous marital statuses of spouse and bride or groom. Remarriage rates by sex and previous marital status are estimated using vital registration data in combination with census information; there are 47 countries that have such data. The results of the analyses indicate that there are a number of general patterns of remarriage and spouse selection that tend to hold across countries.     

Non-ghetto gays: a sociological study of suburban homosexuals

This ethnographic study is focused upon the lifestyles of white, suburban, middle-class homosexuals. Interview data on some two dozen individuals obtained in the spring of 1982 was increasingly supplemented and supplanted by continued field observation and other techniques of data-gathering through the summer of 1985. The data on the coming-out experiences were largely congruent with models of homosexual identity formation, especially those of Plummer (1975) and Troiden (1979). As expected, older subjects generally progressed through coming-out stages at a slower pace than their younger counterparts. The middle-class orientation and the suburban socio-cultural environment were also seen as inhibiting homosexual identity formation. The advent of AIDS seemed to have little obvious impact on behavior until the last months of the study. Suburban homosexuals in this study were strongly oriented to their work and career-building, to suburban home ownership, and to obtaining a long-term love relationship with another male. Suburban homosexuals were also strongly individualistic and assimilationist, rather than oriented towards collective action or organizational membership based on shared sexual identity. While the fortunes of the two friendship groups differed, friendship bonds among suburban homosexuals compare favorably with male friendships in the general population. The findings in this study suggest that suburban homosexuals, like many other Americans, are finding suburban life increasingly attractive and that the lure of large cities and gay ghettos has faded.     

Male attitudes toward abortion: An analysis of urban survey data

Utilizing data from Edmonton Area Surveys of 1977, 1984, and 1987, this paper examines the attitudes of Canadian men toward the contentious issue of abortion. Respondents were presented with various different circumstances for abortion and asked to indicate the conditions in which they feel women ought to or ought not to be allowed to obtain a legal abortion. Findings reveal that attitudes toward abortion vary greatly depending upon the criteria for abortion. Endangering the mother's health elicited the most favourable attitude toward abortion between 1977 and 1987. The findings also depict a slight trend toward greater opposition to legalized abortion on the grounds of possible birth defect, while the approval of legal abortion on the grounds of rape increased marginally during the ten-year period. The paper goes further to examine socio-demographic variations in attitudes toward abortion. Some of the neglected issues that will likely make future Canadian abortion legislation impotent are also discussed.     

Vices, gods, and virtues: cosmology as a mediating factor in attitudes toward male homosexuality

Using historical and anthropological evidence, the article examines the relationship of the polytheistic and monotheistic cosmologies and attitudes toward sexuality, in particular, male homosexuality. The polytheistic cosmology included the ideas of the continuity of creation, the generative forces of the universe as a whole, and gender blurring in the realm of the supernatural. In the monotheistic cosmology the godhead (Yahweh) is unborn and does not father any generations, the universe is desexualized, and the conception of gender is rigidified. The author concludes that polytheism created the conditions for a wide variety of sexual expression and sex-role behavior and did not preclude any particular form of sexual activity. In contradistinction, the monotheistic cosmology was highly restrictive of permissible male and female behavior and sexual expression and conduct. Consequently, polytheism was able to embrace the crossing of gender lines and homosexual relationships while monotheism was incapable of making these accommodations.     

Continuity and changes in attitudes toward marriage in contemporary Taiwan

Journal of Population Research - Research on marriage values bears crucial policy implications in a low-fertility context where obstacles to marriage are indicative of fertility barriers,...     

Sex differences in valuations of the environment?

Sexual selection theory affords a rationale for predicting that men, especially young men, may be more willing than women to risk harms and to discount the future in the pursuit of short-term gains. These propositions apply to many domains of risky behavior, and it is likely that they apply to decisions involving potential harms to the environment and health hazards as well. Two preliminary studies of university subjects' responses to hypothetical dilemmas that support the predicted sex difference are described. Important understudied questions are, to what extent reckless risk acceptance may be mitigated by material wellbeing, by marriage, and by parenthood.     

Preference for caesarean and attitudes toward birth in a Chilean sample of young adults

BackgroundLittle empirical research exists about what motivates birth mode preferences, and even less about this topic in Latin America, where obstetric interventions and caesareans are some of the highest worldwide.AimTo identify factors associated with caesarean preference among Chilean men and women who plan to have children and to inform childbirth education and informed consent procedures.MethodsAn online cross-sectional survey measuring attitudes toward birth was administered to graduate students at a large public university in Chile. Eligible students were under the age of 40 and had no children but intended to have children. Logistic regression modelling was used to determine which sociodemographic factors, knowledge and beliefs were associated with caesarean preference.FindingsAmong eligible students, 730 responded and 664 provided complete answers to the variables of interest. Respondents had a mean age of 28.8; 38% were male and 62% female. Positive attitude toward technological intervention (Odds Ratio 7.4, 95% Confidence Interval 3.9–14.0), high risk perception of vaginal birth (Odds Ratio 1.8, 95% Confidence Interval 1.1–2.8), family history of caesarean (Odds Ratio 1.9, 95% Confidence Interval 1.0–3.8) and high fear of birth (Odds Ratio 3.7, 95% Confidence Interval 2.0–6.8) were associated with caesarean preference.DiscussionPreference for caesarean birth was highly associated with positive attitudes toward technological intervention and may be related to a lack of knowledge about the realities of caesarean and vaginal birth.ConclusionsPatient-centered education on the relative benefits and risks of birth modes has the potential to influence preferences toward vaginal birth.