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Cross-cultural and socio-demographic correlates of homophobic attitude among university students in three European countries

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate homophobic attitudes in three European countries: Italy, Albania, and Ukraine. One thousand and forty-eight students were recruited in Italian (n = 766), Albanian (n = 180), and Ukrainian (n = 102) university centers.

Methods

A socio-demographic questionnaire and Homophobia Scale (HS) were administered by our staff.

Results

Cross-cultural and significant differences among Italian, Albanian, and Ukrainian students were found on the Homophobia Scale (HS; Italy: mean = 22.26 ± 16.73; Albania: mean = 38.15 ± 17.28; Ukraine: mean = 59.18 ± 16.23). The analysis of socio-demographic characteristics revealed that the male gender emerged as main predictor of homophobic attitude in all the three countries, although also a conservative political orientation and the religious belief predict higher homophobia levels in Italy and Albania, particularly.

Conclusions

This study revealed that in these European countries assessed, attitudes toward homosexuality are different. Ukrainians display higher levels of homophobia than Albanians and Italians, confirming the central role of cultural differences in homophobic attitudes. Nevertheless, some socio-demographic aspects such as identification as male have a similar influence on homophobic attitudes in all assessed populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00131, Rome, Italy

    G. Ciocca, C. Niolu, E. Limoncin, G. Di Lorenzo, A. Siracusano & E. A. Jannini

  2. Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    D. Déttore & P. Antonelli

  3. Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Council”, Tirana, Albania

    S. Conte

  4. Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    B. Tuziak, D. Mollaioli, E. Carosa & G. L. Gravina

  5. Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    S. Di Sante & A. Lenzi

  6. Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    A. D. Fisher & M. Maggi

Authors
  1. G. Ciocca
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  2. C. Niolu
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  7. E. Limoncin
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  8. D. Mollaioli
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  9. E. Carosa
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  10. G. L. Gravina
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  11. S. Di Sante
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  12. G. Di Lorenzo
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  13. A. D. Fisher
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  14. M. Maggi
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  15. A. Lenzi
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  17. E. A. Jannini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. A. Jannini.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by our ethics committee for investigations involving human subjects.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from participants included in the study.

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Ciocca, G., Niolu, C., Déttore, D. et al. Cross-cultural and socio-demographic correlates of homophobic attitude among university students in three European countries. J Endocrinol Invest 40, 227–233 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-016-0554-1

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