The Influence of Sociocultural Factors on Millennial Students' Attitudes Toward Gay Males

Background and Purpose: The intersection of gender, religion, and politics presents unique challenges for social work educators called upon to help students understand oppression based on sexual orientation.  This study examined attitudes toward sexual minorities among undergraduates at a public university in the Midwest. Our research focused on negative attitudes or “homonegativity” toward gay males, as previous data show this group is often subjected to higher rates of prejudice compared to lesbians and bisexuals.  The study sought to address the paucity of social work research on the sociocultural factors associated with anti-gay prejudice, exploring how students’ political orientation, religiosity, and gender affect bias.

Methods:  A convenience sample of 222 undergraduate students (Mean age = 19; SD = 2.69) from two sections of a required general education course were surveyed using a cross-sectional design.  Students were surveyed on measures of religiosity (Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire, Plante & Boccaccini, 1997), negative attitudes toward gay males (Modern Homonegativity Scale, Morrison & Morrison, 2002), were asked to provide demographic information (e.g., gender, age, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation) and information regarding political orientation, and level of personal contact with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual individuals. 

Results: Correlation coefficients were computed for the predictor variables, and the outcome variable of homonegativity. Results showed significant correlations between negative attitudes toward gay males and political orientation, religiosity, gender, and personal contact with gay males.  Religiosity was significantly associated with political orientation; students scoring higher on religiosity were more likely to indicate a conservative political orientation.  Consistent with previous research, males were more likely to endorse negative attitudes and report less personal contact with gay males.  Additionally, male students were more likely to indicate a conservative political orientation.  Correlational analysis showed political orientation to have the strongest relationship to negative attitudes toward gay males, with a correlation of .48 at the .01 level between the two variables.        

Multiple regression analysis revealed political orientation to be the strongest predictor. The addition of political orientation to the regression model accounted for 33% of the variance in negative attitudes toward gay males. The partial correlation coefficient of .38 for political orientation also reflected the strength of this predictor over and above the other variables.     

Conclusions and Implications: Although prior studies suggest greater acceptance for LGBT persons among younger people, our findings suggest that sociocultural factors continue to be a significant predictor of attitudes.  This has critical implications for social work educators in working with students from traditionally conservative cultures, particularly with regard to issues of sexuality. When addressing anti-gay bias, social work educators may be challenging students’ moral teachings and understandings of the basic nature of human relations.  Additionally, recent advances in LGBT rights have led to an organized backlash that educators may be confronted with in the classroom.