Who has the worst attitudes toward sexual minorities? Comparison of transphobia and homophobia levels in gender dysphoric individuals, the general population and health care providers

Abstract

Participants completed the Modern Homophobia Scale (MHS) and the Attitudes Toward Transgendered Individuals Scale (ATTI) in order to assess attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women and toward transgender individuals, respectively. In addition, GDs completed the Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire (GIDYQ-AA) and ATTI to measure, respectively, gender dysphoria levels and internalized transphobia. Religious attitudes were evaluated by means of the Religious Fundamentalism Scale (RFS), and Discrimination and Stigma Scale (DISC-12) was used to measure perceived discrimination. AbstractPurpose To date, few studies have addressed attitudes toward transgender individuals. In addition, little is known about health care providers' (HCP) attitudes toward sexual minorities. The aim of the present study is to compare attitudes toward homosexual and transgender individuals between gender dysphoric individuals (GDs), general population controls (C) and HCP. Methods A total of 310 subjects were considered, including 122 GDs (63 transwomen and 59 transmen), 53 heterosexual HCP (26 males and 27 females) and 135 C. Results (1) Men showed significantly higher levels of homophobia and transphobia when compared to women (p < 0.001); (2) perceived discrimination was higher in lesbian women compared to gay men and in transwomen compared to transmen (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively); and (3) religious fundamentalism was associated with both homophobia and transphobia (both p < 0.001).Conclusions Our results underline the need to promote awareness and acceptance of the sexual minorities, who are more at risk of discriminatory attitudes, which are strongly dependent on religious precepts and dogma.

Experiences with stigmatization among transgender individuals after transition: A qualitative study in the Netherlands

“…This finding is in line with research findings put forth by Fisher et al (2017), who studied the attitude of men and women toward sexual minorities and found that cisgender men showed significantly higher levels of transphobia than cisgender women. In that study, the authors described how cisgender men experienced the transition of transgender individuals as an impairment of their own masculinity (Fisher et al, 2017); they may see transgender people as a threat, and the devaluation of transgender people is a response to that threat (Norton & Herek, 2013). In this study, most participants reported openness and integration in society, which are characteristics referring to the post-transition stages of Devor (2004).…”

Caring for Sexual and Gender Minority Patients: What Factors Explain Self-Reported Competence among Health Care Professional Students?

“…The GAPS is a 30-item scale designed to measure health practitioners' beliefs and behaviors regarding care of gay and lesbian individuals. The instrument uses a 5-point Likert scale from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1) for items 1-15 and from always (5) to never (1) for items [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. The directionality and scoring for items were retained from the original instrument with the neutral answer option shifted to the far right to allow for a genuine non-response option as with the prior two scales.…”

“…[4][5][6][7][8] Past studies have suggested that more SGM-speci c health training, 5,9,10 personal and professional experiences with SGM people, [11][12][13][14] and certain sociodemographic factors are associated with increased clinician competence in caring for SGM patients. [15][16] Speci cally, identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ); female sex-assigned-at-birth; [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] liberal political a liation; 21,22,27 less religiosity; 9,14,22,28 and less spirituality 29 have predicted more a rming attitudes toward SGM people. Also, younger age, 10 white (versus non-white) race, 18,20,26 and less conservative religion, 9,21,30 have predicted less bias toward SGM people in past samples.…”

Can They and Will They? Exploring Proxy Response of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Current Population Survey

“…This study sought to explore the processes surrounding proxy response to SOGI questions. Because LGBT individuals have experienced social stigma in the United States, SOGI questions may elicit more privacy and confidentiality concerns compared to other questions typically included on federal surveys (Fisher et al 2017;SMART Report 2009;GenIUSS Group 2014). These privacy and confidentiality concerns may cause respondent reluctance to self or proxy report SOGI on a federal survey, or to not disclose their status to other household members, creating difficulties in proxy response.…”