Homophobic Behavior Among High School Students in Switzerland

Background and Purpose

Disclosure of sexual orientation among adolescents is frequently associated with loss of friendship and peer rejection. Research has evidenced that peer rejection and victimization were linked to psychosocial problems among sexual minority adolescents, including suicidal behavior. Knowledge about verbal abuse is particularly important for prevention. Negative statements against gay people can easily affect not only openly gay adolescents but also peers who have not yet come out or are unsure of their sexual orientation. Given that data on the prevalence of homophobic behavior among adolescents were not available, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of use of homophobic language among high school students.

Method

From August to October 2016, we visited 58 high school classes in 22 public schools in a county in Switzerland, and asked the 8^th and 9^th year students in three ability-based school types to participate in a survey on gender and gay issues. For our data collection, we used an anonymous self-administered questionnaire filled in during class. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Drawing on validated scales, we used a five items to assess homophobic verbal behavior against gay men and gender nonconforming boys during the previous 12 months. Response options were (0) never, (1) rarely, (2) sometimes, (3) often, and (4) very often. The internal consistency was sufficient (Cronbach’s alpha=0.76).

 

Results

The sample consisted of 897 students aged 12 - 17, 334 in the 8^th and 563 in the 9^th year, 51.2% female, 48.8% male, and 50.3% with an immigration background.

In total, 85.4% of the participants reported having made homophobic statements in the 12 months before the survey (M=0.73, SD=0.68). A proportion of 47.7% of the participants reported that they had called someone they did not like ‘gay’ or ‘a fag’, 65.1% had used phrases such as ‘that’s so gay’ or ‘no homo’, 33.1% had made jokes about gays, 18.3% had made fun of a person who is gay, and 56.9% reported they had made fun of a boy who ‘behaved like a girl’.

There is a large and significant difference between the mean score of the overall scale among female students (M=0.46, SD=0.48) and male students (M=1.02, SD=0.74).The biggest difference between female and male students was in the first item: 29.6% of the female students but 66.7% of the male students called someone they did not like ‘gay’ or ‘a fag’.

Conclusion

Findings evidence a high prevalence of homophobic, verbally abusive behavior in the responding high school students. Even though some statements are not intended to discriminate against gays, they have a negative effect on homosexual adolescents and adolescents who are not sure about their sexual orientation, regardless of the underlying intention. Therefore, social workers should raise high school students’ awareness of the negative impact of homophobic statements. Most effective would be an immediate reaction.