Homophobia and physical aggression toward homosexual and heterosexual individuals.

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between homophobia (defined as self-reported negative affect, avoidance, and aggression toward homosexuals) and homosexual aggression. Self-identified heterosexual college men were assigned to homophobic (n = 26) and nonhomophobic (n = 26) groups on the basis of their scores on the Homophobia Scale (HS; L. W. Wright, H. E. Adams, & L A. Bernat, 1999). Physical aggression was examined by having participants administer shocks to a fictitious opponent during a competitive reaction time (RT) task under the impression that the study was examining the relationship between sexually explicit material and RT. Participants were exposed to a male homosexual erotic videotape, their affective reactions were assessed, and they then competed in the RT task against either a heterosexual or a homosexual opponent. The homophobic group reported significantly more negative affect, anxiety, and anger-hostility after watching the homosexual erotic videotape than did the nonhomophobic group. Additionally, the homophobic group was significantly more aggressive toward the homosexual opponent, but the groups did not differ in aggression toward the heterosexual opponent.

What motivates hate crimes based on sexual orientation? Mediating effects of anger on antigay aggression

“…Bernat et al, 2001;Parrott and Zeichner, 2005;Patel et al, 1995]. The present results are consistent with these studies.…”

“…In terms of the sexual prejudice model, previous research showed that sexually prejudiced men, in comparison with nonsexually prejudiced men, become angry when they are in the presence of gay men [e.g. Bernat et al, 2001;Parrott et al, 2006;Van de Ven et al, 1996]. Indeed, this study found that sexual prejudice was positively associated with a higher likelihood to experience anger in response to gay men.…”

“…Research has also demonstrated that when sexually prejudiced men are exposed to sexual violations of the male gender role, they report higher levels of anger relative to nonsexually prejudiced men [Bernat et al, 2001;Ernulf and Innala, 1987;Parrott and Zeichner, 2005;Parrott et al, 2006;Van de Ven et al, 1996]. In addition, recent studies using startle eye blink methodology indicate a clear link between sexual prejudice and negative affective reactions after exposure to pictures of nude men or nude gay male couples [Mahaffey et al, 2005a,b].…”

“…The lack of data in this area is likely due to the methodology used to examine associations between these variables. For example, the relationships between sexual prejudice, anger in response to gay men, and antigay aggression have been studied exclusively using laboratorybased methods [Bernat et al, 2001;Parrott and Zeichner, 2005]. Unfortunately, as outlined by Lindsay and Anderson [2000], laboratory-based studies are not ideal for examining the mediational effects of state variables (e.g.…”

“…Laboratory-based studies have shown that sexually prejudiced men displayed higher levels of aggressive behavior toward a gay male, relative to the heterosexual male, but only after exposure to sexual violations of the traditional male gender role (i.e. male-male erotica) [Bernat et al, 2001;Parrott and Zeichner, 2005].…”