Predictors of Homonegativity in the United States and the Netherlands Using the World Values Survey

Background/Purpose: Although, in many respects, the United States is one of the most advanced nations in the world, it lags behind other industrialized nations in terms of sexual liberality, particularly for same sex relationships.  By comparison, the Netherlands is believed to surpass most countries in this respect, by having progressive liberal policies that support LGBT rights.  This notwithstanding, there is evidence that homosexuals in the Netherlands, gay men in particular, are pressured to live heteronormative lifestyles due to stigmatizing societal attitudes.  As in the United States, there is also evidence that Dutch LGBT are targeted by anti-gay violence.  This exploratory study examined similarities and differences between predictors of homonegativity in the United States and the Netherlands using an international, cross-cultural survey.  Study findings contribute to a discussion of the relevance of Dutch LGBT rights policies for the United States context.

Methods: Using secondary data from the 2006 wave of the World Values Survey, this study examined cultural attitudes about homosexuality in two countries, the United States and the Netherlands, to determine (1) the degree to which homonegativity exists in the United States and the Netherlands, and (2) how predictors of homonegativity in the United States and the Netherlands compare.  Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on subpopulations of World Values Survey participants, aged 18 and older, living in the United States (N=1,249) and the Netherlands (N=1,009).

Results: Overall, the degree of homonegativity in the United States was found to be higher than in the Netherlands (25.1% vs. 4.1%), with significant predictors being married, identifying traditional values as being important, and identifying religion as being important. In the United States, religious denomination was also a statistically significant predictor of homonegativity; Catholics were about half as likely as other religions to express homonegativity.  In the Netherlands, unhappiness was a statistically significant predictor of homonegativity, along with unemployment and negative attitudes about immigrants/foreign workers.  Another significant finding was that negative attitudes about persons with AIDS predicted homonegativity in both countries, albeit to a much lesser extent in the Netherlands, suggesting that homonegativity may be influenced by public health issues linked to the LGBT community in both countries.

Implications: Although it might be tempting to idealize Dutch policies regarding LGBT rights, social workers are ethically bound to thoroughly examine the context, benefits, and consequences (both intended and unintended) of such policies to inform policy debates in the United States.  Comparing attitudes about the LGBT populations of the United States and the Netherlands may highlight similarities and differences between our two cultures, which in turn may help social workers determine which aspects of Dutch policy are congruent with American culture, and what provisions may need to be made in order to avoid continued stigmatization, oppression, and marginalization of the LGBT population in the United States.