The role of sexual prejudice in understanding attitudes toward gay men and lesbians
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2023.1.39388Keywords:
sexual prejudice, homophobia, attitudes, gays, lesbians.Abstract
Sexual prejudice is a complex, multidimensional and change-resistant phenomenon which represents a pervasive problem both in Brazil and in other countries. In the light of this situation, the present study is aimed at understanding the relationships between sexual prejudice and attitudes towards gays and lesbians, verifying, in addition, whether prejudice could constitute an explanatory variable for such attitudes. For this, 430 university students (M = 23.5 years; SD = 7.90; 72.5% women) from a public institution in João Pessoa/PB who responded to the Multidimensional Scale of Sexual Prejudice, the Multidimensional Scale of Attitudes towards Gays and Lesbians and demographic questions. The results showed that sexual prejudice positively predicted attitudes of homopathologization, rejection of proximity and heterosexism, and negatively predicted supportive attitudes toward homosexuals. These findings indicate that sexual prejudice is a major explanatory mechanism for attitudes towards gays and lesbians.
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