Proximal and Distal Predictors of Homophobia: Framing the Multivariate Roots of Outgroup Rejection¹

Abstract

A proximal‐distal theoretical framework was developed to examine the multivariate roots of homophobia. Using data from a sample of 288 undergraduates who had participated in a computer‐assisted panel study over a three‐year period, the effects on homophobia of distal and proximal family factors (e. g., parental education and family environment), distal and proximal individual factors (e. g., personality constructs and current beliefs), and proximal individual‐situational factors (e. g., acquaintance with homosexuals) were tested in regression analyses. Both analyses employing sets of variables varying in proximity to the homophobic attitude and hierarchical regression employing variables contributing significantly in each set supported the proposed framework. All sets predicted significantly when regressed separately on homophobia; the sets containing the distal factors contributed most weakly, and the sets containing the proximal factors contributed most strongly. In hierarchical regression analysis, this pattern maintained such that the incremental increase in r2 decreased with the addition of each more distal set, with the most distal factors failing to contribute significantly to the prediction. The importance of study findings for attitude change efforts is discussed.

Homosexuality Tolerance Among Male and Female Vietnamese Youth: An Examination of Traditional Sexual Values, Self-Esteem, and Demographic/Contextual Characteristics

“…In a mixed-gender college students sample, physical self-esteem (but not general self-esteem) was positively associated with homophobic attitudes [26]. Another study found that general self-esteem was not correlated with attitude toward homosexuality among men or women, but gender-related selfesteem positively predicted homophobic attitudes among men [27].…”

The Evaluation of Homophobia in an Italian Sample

“…For instance, a consistent finding has been a significant positive relation between homophobia and authoritarianism (low tolerance of ambiguity, high cognitive rigidity, and adherence to authority over individual freedom; Herek, 1984;MacDonald & Games, 1974;Smith, 1971;Wylies & Forest, 1992). Homophobia has also been associated with traditional gender role attitudes (i.e., maintaining a clear and traditional distinction between the sexes, and between what is thought to be "male" and "female;" Aguero et al, 1984;Hudson & Ricketts, 1980;Smith, 1971), and with religious conservatism (Agnew, Thompson, Smith, Gramzow, & Currey, 1993;Forstein, 1988;Fyfe, 1983).…”

Co-occurrence of Rape Myth Acceptance, Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Ageism, Classism, and Religious Intolerance

“…Analogous to the literature on racism, no research to date has explored the interrelationship of homophobia and rape myth acceptance. Homophobia, however, has also been found to be associated with sexism (Agnew, Thompson, Smith, Gramzow, & Currey, 1993;Campbell, Schellenberg, & Senn, 1997;Polimeni et al, 2000;Thompson, Gristani, & Pleck, 1985). Given the known relationship between sexism and rape myth acceptance, an investigation focused on the association between homophobia and rape myth seems warranted.…”