Factors Modulating Attitudes towards Homosexuality at a Small Canadian University

The authors conducted a survey at Bishop's University to examine possible predictors of students’ attitudes towards homosexuality. Two attitude scales (the Index of Homophobia and the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale - short form) were administered to a sample of 263 undergraduate students (119 males and 144 females), recruited from across the academic divisions and years of university attendance. Scores on these scales were correlated against the demographic variables of age, gender, program of study, and years of education. The effects of religiosity, churchgoing, political affiliation, maternal tongue, living arrangements (on or off campus) and belief in the causes of homosexuality were also examined. The authors found that twenty-four percent of the participants were classified as either low- or high-grade homophobic on the Index of Homophobia. In univariate analyses, they concluded that homophobia was found to be highest among Business students, and lowest among Humanities students; also, men were more homophobic than women, especially towards male homosexuals. Contrary to some previous claims, the authors found that homophobia increased slightly with the number of years of higher education that the subject had received. However, in a multivariate analysis, they found that homophobia was associated (R = .58) only with subjects who were of male gender, Francophone rather than Anglophone, and politically conservative.

Journal of Eastern Townships Studies / Revue d'études des Cantons-de-l'Est

No. 32-33

73-88

Spring-Fall 2008

en