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Homosexuality, homophobia and support for Lesbians and Gay human rights

Relationship between affective and cognitive reaction toward homosexuals: an exploratory study in a Southern Italian sample

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Abstract

Studies on homophobia found the origin of discriminatory attitudes regarding homosexuals in conceptual equations presenting homosexuality either as a genetic error, or as psychological “disturbance” or at other times as a ‘mistake’ in the socialization process. Although in respect to the more or less recent past, today we witness a greater amount of openness toward homosexuals which has above all affirmed juridical equality, yet discriminatory attitudes seem to persist in mentalities and social practices. This study investigates homophobia in Sicilian society, where the culture has traditionally focused on the ‘male cult’, with strong sexist and homophobic attitudes. In particular, it explores the relationship between an emotional or affective negative reaction toward homosexuals and a more cognitive or rational reaction toward homosexuality particularly linked to the degree of support for Gay and Lesbian human rights issues. It is our hypothesis that it is possible to feel uncomfortable in associating with homosexuals without necessarily refusing them social and political equality.The findings seem to confirm the idea that knowing one reaction the other reaction can’t be necessarily inferred. They in fact show that there is no a relationship between an affective reaction (measured by revised version of the Hudson/Ricketts Index of Homophobia or IAH scale) and a cognitive one toward homosexuality.

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Notes

  1. According to tests conducted by Hudson and Ricketts an alpha coefficient of 0.91 and a low standard error of measurement suffice to show the scale’s reliability and unidimensionality. A positive correlation of 0.53 significant at \(p<\).0001of IHP and SAS scores [Sexual Attitudine Scale, a reliable and valid measure of an individual’s conservative vs liberal beliefs on the expression of human sexuality (Hudson and Murphy 1978)] assure instead construct validity.

  2. Items 12, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the IHP modified version replace the following original items:

    1. 12.

      I would deny to members of my peer group that I had friends who were homosexual

    2. 18.

      I would like to have my parents know that I had gay friends.

    3. 19.

      I would feel uncomfortable kissing a close friend of my sex in public

    4. 20.

      I would like to have friends of my sex who were homosexual

    5. 21.

      If a member of my sex made an advance toward me I would wonder if I were homosexual

    According to Hudson and Ricketts, these items conform less to the proposed definition of homophobia: item 12 represents a decision concerning social relations; items 18 and 20 represent preference statements and item 21 represents a judgement concerning one’s sexual status. Item 19 was substituted to strengthen the overall scale.

  3. As is known, analysis of \(2 \times 2\) tables for dichotomic variables leads to the following conclusion: the more unbalanced the frequencies of a diagonal are, the lower is the variance of each dichotomy, and the less reliable the relative statistical coefficients are (Gangemi 1985). This is true for the phi \((\varphi )\) coefficient which can be calculated only on dichotomies with balanced frequencies. It has been shown that the more unbalanced the frequencies are, the less reliable the phi values are, overestimating the existence of a relationship among variables which instead is not there or, if it does exist, is weak. In the case of unbalanced frequencies, the coefficient tau c can be used, whose formula is \(\tau _{c}=4(\mathrm{ad}-\mathrm{bc})/N^{2}\). It varies from +1 to \(-\)1 and therefore can be compared to \(\varphi \). If the frequencies are balanced \(\tau _{c}=\varphi \). But the more unbalanced the frequencies are and therefore the smaller the variance of each variable, the more \(\tau _{c.}\)tends to reduce its value compared to \(\varphi \), i.e. it tends to negate the existence of the relationship. In other words, it induces us to deny the existence of a relationship between variables where \(\varphi \) behaves in a less reliable manner tending toward its over estimation.

  4. In Italy, any possible assistance to the sick partner still depends on the ill partner’s family permission even in heterosexual or defacto relationships.

  5. Here the opportune use of \(\tau _\mathrm{c}\) is evident. Since the frequencies are unbalanced, \(\varphi \) assumes higher values than \(\tau _\mathrm{c} \) inducing the acceptance of a relationship, even if somewhat weak, between the variables which \(\tau _\mathrm{c} \) leads instead to exclude.

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  1. Department of Political and Social Sciences, Catania University, 8 Vittorio Emanuele II, 95131 , Catania, Italy

    Rosalia Condorelli

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  1. Rosalia Condorelli
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Condorelli, R. Homosexuality, homophobia and support for Lesbians and Gay human rights. Qual Quant 49, 1761–1778 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-014-9999-5

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