Disclosing Lesbian and Gay Male Sexual Orientation in Later Life: Attitudes of Younger and Older Generations in Eight Latin American Countries

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to explore attitudes toward older lesbians and gay men disclosing their sexual preferences in eight Latin American countries. The sample consisted of 1,539 participants belonging to three age groups (18–29 years, 60–69 years, and 70 years and over). Their answers to two open-ended questions were content-analyzed, and binary logistic regressions were run on the extreme attitudinal categories. Results showed that although most attitudes were positive, a solid percentage of participants still expressed different kinds of derogatory attitudes. Men (as compared to women) and participants who were more religious and less educated tended to hold more negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Both older samples were more prejudiced than the younger one, and attitudes also varied according to country. There was a general trend showing more positive attitudes toward older lesbians and gay men in those countries where sexual minorities’ rights are better assured, which suggests that measures to protect sexual minorities and to make sexual diversity in older age visible could be advisable.     

Altruism and Market-Like Behavior: An Analysis of Willingness to Pay for Recycled Paper Products

The contrast between self-interested behavior guided by rational choice and altruistic behavior guided by normative considerations is a central theme in the social sciences. This study suggests that market and market-like behavior, the context where self-interest is expected to dominate, is in fact often motivated by altruism. This argument is tested by examining a willingness to pay measure, a surrogate for the market that is finding substantial use in analyses of public policy. In particular, the ability of the Schwartz model of altruism to explain willingness to pay for recycled products is examined. Findings indicate that even as the Schwartz model has explained many purely altruistic behaviors, it also can explain self-reported willingness to pay. While economists often have noted the importance of rational choice in even the most intimate of human decisions, this study notes the importance of normative altruism in even the most calculated.     

Beliefs About Diet and Health:

Low income older women (N = 20) in South Carolina were recruited from congregate meal sites for qualitative interviews to assess beliefs about general health, physical functioning, and preventive health behaviors. A loosely structured interview guide of topics was used to encourage free expression of informants' ideas. The Ethnograph analysis package was used for data analysis. In response to open-ended questions, the women spontaneously shared their beliefs about diet and health. Implications for health promotion in rural areas are discussed.     

Impact of a Homonegativity Awareness Workshop on Attitudes Toward Homosexuality

The current study evaluated the effects of a homonegativity awareness workshop on attitudes toward homosexuality and examined individual difference variables associated with attitude change. Participants included 71 female and 43 male students (approximate mean age?=?23). Compared to a control group of introductory psychology students, participants were less homonegative and erotophobic (F(1, 359)?=?62.47 and 15.92, ps?<?.001) after the workshop. Implications for contact with gay and lesbian persons through structured intervention programs on attitudes toward homosexuality are discussed in terms of both the practice and theory of reducing prejudice and discrimination.     

Demographic and Social Factors Associated with Homophobia and Fear of AIDS in a Community Sample

Examinations of demographic and social factors associated with homophobia and fear of AIDS are limited by the frequent use of homogeneous, college student samples and limited examination of interrelationships among variables. The present study examined community attitudes toward homosexuality and fear of HIV/AIDS as a function of age, education, race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, political party affiliation, and personal contact with homosexual individuals and persons living with HIV/AIDS. A community sample of 463 adults completed standardized measures of homophobia and fear of AIDS as well as demographic and social background items. When examined separately, each demographic and social factor assessed, with the exception of race/ethnicity, was associated with homophobia and all but race/ethnicity and political party affiliation were associated with fear of AIDS. However, when entered into multiple regression analyses, 24% of the variance in homophobia was predicted by a single variable, including only personal contact with homosexual individuals, while 18% of the variance in fear of AIDS was accounted for by five variables, including personal contact with homosexual individuals, religious affiliation, political affiliation, education, and personal contact with someone living with HIV/AIDS. Findings suggest that it is important to consider intercorrelations among social and demographic factors, particularly when considering homophobia.     

政治冷漠的表象与隐忧——基于广东高校青年教师的政治态度调查

政治冷漠是古今中外都广泛存在的现象,在当今国际社会也十分普遍。高校青年教师群体中存在广泛的政治冷漠现象,但中国社会存在的政治冷漠现象有着自己鲜明的政治文化特点。政治冷漠具有一定的合理性,知识精英在政治参与中承担着特殊的责任和义务。但合理表象之下,政治冷漠有着加剧社会碎片化、削弱公共领域和纵容专制主义等深层次的隐忧。     

Attitudes of social work students towards older people

Demographic ageing is a challenge for many countries. Even though Turkey has a relatively younger demographic composition, the proportion of the older people (65+) within the population is rapidly increasing. Within this framework, older people are becoming more important clients for both social work students and social workers in Turkey. This study aims to reveal the attitudes of social work students towards older people and determine the various factors that affect their views on older persons. In the scope of the project, Kogan's Attitude Towards Old People Scale was applied to 419 social work undergraduate students at a university located in Central Anatolia. The findings showed that social work students scored a mean of 130.96 and they generally had positive attitudes towards older people. The correlation between year of study, gender and age was not statistically significant. However, having lived mostly in urban areas was positively correlated with the mean Kogan scores and this finding was found to be statistically significant. Exposure to personal contact with older people at both the personal and professional levels was influential in shaping attitudes about the older people.     

Role of social welfare in European suicide prevention

Yur'yev A, Värnik A, Värnik P, Sisask M, Leppik L. Role of social welfare in European suicide prevention The aims of this study were to assess the relationship between suicide mortality and social expenditure in 26 European countries, explore attitudes towards welfare systems and their relationship with suicide mortality, and compare attitudes towards welfare provision in Eastern and Western Europe. The World Health Organization suicide data and Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development social expenditure data for 1980–2005 were used. Data on attitudes towards welfare systems were taken from the European Social Survey. Differences between mean scores for attitudes in Western and Eastern European countries were calculated. Correlations between social expenditure and suicide trends were negative in most countries for both genders. Inverse correlations between attitudes towards welfare provision and suicide mortality rates were demonstrated for males only. Differences in attitudes were found between Eastern and Western European countries; for example, confidence in the welfare system was found to be stronger in Western Europe. Higher social expenditure and greater confidence in welfare provision appear to have suicide‐preventive effects.