Attachment Style, Openness to Experience, and Social Contact as Predictors of Attitudes Toward Homosexuality

The Effect of Education on Homophobia and Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbian Women among Medical Faculty Students: A Turkish Sample

Problem: Gay men (GMs) and lesbian women (LWs) can be exposed to misunderstanding, pressure, condemnation, obstructed access to public services, social isolation, and discrimination in many countries. They may also encounter various difficulties in accessing health services. Being GM and LW is generally unacceptable in Turkey, and both are perceived as abnormal. Medical students may require education on the subject of sexual orientation to improve their knowledge of and attitudes toward LGBT individuals, to help them remain neutral and avoid prejudice in providing health services for such individuals, and to ensure that such care is unbiased. Intervention: This one-group pretest-post-test design study was performed with third-year students at the Ondokuz Mayıs University Medical Faculty (Samsun-Turkey) on 01-31 September, 2021. Three hundred twenty-five students took part. We evaluated students' attitudes toward homophobia and being GM and LW following a two-week multidisciplinary education program. The program included such topics as "Marginalization," "Interaction between cultures," "Sexual orientation," "Faith-based marginalization," "Sub-cultures," "Health protection," "Gender," and "Marginalized groups." For objective acquisition, we organized small group work, experience-sharing sessions (such as different orientation groups, different ethnic groups, and different behavioral templates), presentations, and panel activities. Context: Some circles in Türkiye regard LGBT individuals as representing an attack on national and spiritual values, and they are used as part of the political discourse. Studies are being performed in some medial faculties in Türkiye concerning the inclusion of subjects related to LGBT individuals in the educational curriculum. However, these studies have not yet assumed the form of a curriculum design including content, method, and testing. It is important for subjects concerning LGBT individuals to be considered more extensively in medical education in Türkiye, and for awareness of the rights of these individuals in the community and of combating discrimination to be improved. Outcome: We observed a significant decrease in students' homophobia after education. Significant decreases were observed in agreement with statements to the effect that being a GM or LW is a disease, that it can be treated, that people can be identified as GMs and LWs based on their behavior, and that they pose a major threat to society. Lessons Learned: It is unclear whether education aimed at all marginalized groups will produce different results to those of programs aimed specifically at GMs and LWs, but we think that applying programs directed toward discrimination and prejudice together will yield more effective results.

Personality Traits, Ideology, and Attitudes Toward LGBT People: A Scoping Review

This scoping review investigates the existing literature regarding personality traits, ideology, gender roles, and attitudes toward LGBT people. The review was conducted through PubMed and Web of Science databases. After establishing inclusion- and exclusion criteria, 12 studies published between 2013 and 2023 were reviewed, three themes (personality traits, gender roles and differences, and political ideology) were identified through thematic analysis. Several of the studies reported a relation between the personality traits Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, and homo- and transnegative attitudes. In particular, lower levels of Agreeableness, high levels of Conscientiousness, and lower levels of Extraversion were related to prejudice. The Dark Triad, especially the antagonistic traits Psychopathy and Machiavellianism, had a strong association with homo- and transnegativity. Multiple studies showed a connection between negative attitudes and ideological views. Especially right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) were strong predictors of negative attitudes toward LGBT people. The majority of the studies also reported a significant gender difference in attitudes, with men being more prone to exhibit prejudice toward LGBT people than women. There are practical implications of this review relating to interventions which may target the prevention of homo and trans-negative attitudes, promoting inclusion and integration.

From adversity to activism: A psychobiographical case study of Cori Bush

INTRODUCTION

Cori Bush is a prominent modern activist in the U.S., becoming involved in activism following Michael Brown's death. Bush, like many activists before her, has set clear goals for social change, yet work is needed to understand why Bush (and like others) became an activist when others did not. One potential reason may be that these exemplars found purpose in life in activism. Thus, the current psychobiography explores the purpose in life of Cori Bush, a prominent activist and politician in the U.S., as well as what factors emerge for how Bush found her purpose in life.

METHOD

The present research gathered public materials (e.g., speeches) from Bush and coded materials for the presence and depth of both themes of purpose and factors predicting purpose.

RESULTS

Activism was the most prominent theme of purpose for Bush, with some pro-social purposes also occurring. Multiple personal factors emerged as influences on her activist purpose, including extraversion, psychological flexibility, and action-oriented coping style. Additionally, the situational factors of discriminatory experiences and Michael Brown's death emerged as factors.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that Bush has an activist purpose in life and that she found this purpose through a combination of personal and situational factors.

A Qualitative Approach to Exploring the Impact of the Gay Identity Formation Process

Background

Most gay men experience difficulty in coming to terms with their sexual orientation, with their health, wellbeing, and quality of life potentially affected by unpleasant experiences often associated with the formation of their gay identity. It is therefore important for nurses to understand the needs of gay men so that they can accompany them and provide quality care during and after the identity formation process.

Objective

The aim of the study was to explore and describe the identity formation and coming out experiences of gay men.

Methods

A qualitative design with a constructivist naturalist approach was used. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with five gay men with experience of the gay identity formation process, and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method.

Results

The results show that the men needed support, as they reported feeling different and alone during the identity formation and coming out process, and that their mental health was affected. Fear of rejection, negative reactions, and disappointing people were the reasons that led the men not to disclose their sexual orientation to family, while those who had come out defined a feeling of liberation.

Conclusions

The gay identity formation process has potential impacts on health, wellbeing, and quality of life. Nurses need cultural competence training to be able to understand the needs of gay men, accompany them in the identity formation process, and provide individualized and non-heteronormative care. Nurses also need to participate in dismantling a heterosexist social structure.

Validation of Herek's attitudes toward lesbian women and gay men scale among undergraduates in mainland China

The lack of a standardized reliable and valid instrument makes it difficult to measure attitudes toward lesbian women and gay men (ATLG) consistently and thus poses a challenge to compare and contrast intervention measures. This study aimed to validate Herek's ATLG scale among undergraduates in mainland China and identify factors associated with negative attitudes toward LG. A total of 6,036 eligible undergraduates conveniently drawn from 30 provinces across mainland China were randomly split in half. Item analysis was first used to select unrelated or redundant items for deletion. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were then conducted on the first half of the sample (n = 3,001), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability analysis in the second half (n = 3035). Logistic regression analyses were finally carried out to identify their determinants. Six items were removed from the item analysis. EFA supported the existence of two factors (ATL and ATG). CFA results indicated that the two-factor model fit the data better than the one-factor model. Logistic regression analyses indicated that being female, majoring in non-health-related disciplines, attributing homosexuality to uncontrollable causes, non-adherence to traditional gender norms and exposure to homosexual content were significantly associated with less negative attitudes toward both L and G. Urban students were marginally less likely to express negative attitudes toward L but not G, while non-heterosexuals and those who had prior personal contact with homosexuals exhibited less negative attitudes toward G but not L. However, grade showed no significant associations with either ATL or ATG. The retained 14-item version of Herek's ATLG scale has been proven to be a reliable and valid tool. Furthermore, ATL and ATG were determined by different factors and thus would be treated separately. In order to reduce negative attitudes toward LG among undergraduates in mainland China, a comprehensive intervention plan such as conducting comprehensive sex education and pushing the process of legalizing same-sex marriage should be designed, implemented and evaluated.

Novice Instructional Designers' Attitudes towards the Best Possible Self Activity and the Correlation with Personality and Subjective Well-Being

The effectiveness of positive psychology interventions relies heavily on participants' buy-in and personality traits. The Best Possible Self (BPS) intervention asks participants to envision their ideal future, supposing that everything goes smoothly. The BPS shows salient effects in improving subjective well-being in laboratory settings. In this study, the BPS was integrated into a real-world graduate-level online course as a series of assignments. A convergent mixed method was used to explore the participants' attitudes towards the BPS and the relationship between their personality and subjective well-being. A total of 86 students registered in both the summer and spring semesters of 2020 participated in this study. Pearson correlation results show significant correlations among attitudes, subjective well-being and gains and openness to experience. The results from open-ended questions confirmed participants' positive attitudes towards the BPS. This study contributes to the practical application of BPS in real-world, online, higher education courses.

Sexual prejudice, sexism, and religion

Multi-national and meta-analytic studies suggest that the pathways between religiousness and sexism/sexual prejudice are partially mediated by sociopersonality factors such as conservatism. In this article, we describe the contributing factors to this relationship, such as authoritarianism and fundamentalism. These factors interact at the dynamic nexus of individual and social development. As such, religiously situated sexism and sexual prejudice are not viewed as inevitable outcomes to religious practice and faith. Individual differences (e.g. conservatism), congregational (e.g. doctrine/policies, limited contact), and cultural factors (e.g. power hierarchies) mutually contribute to this landscape, and individuals ultimately make choices regarding their behavior and views. Further research exploring the mechanisms of religiously situated gender inequality and sexual prejudice is essential given the associated negative outcomes for individuals, relationships, and communities. Our growing grasp of the agentive pathways leading to religiously situated prejudice and discrimination is enriching our understanding of how individual differences and social contexts contribute to sexism and sexual prejudice.