University Faculty Attitudes Toward Homosexuality

The purpose of the researcher was to investigate faculty attitudes toward homosexuality. The independent variables investigated were gender, marital status, age, religious preference, and highest educational status attained. Scores from the Homophobia Scale were utilized as the dependent variable. The sample consisted of 131 university faculty members. Five composite null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level employing a three-way analysis of variance (general linear model). A total of 18 comparisons plus 17 recurring comparisons were made. Of the 18 comparisons 5 were for main effects and 13 for interactions. Of the 5 main effects, one was statistically significant at the .05 level. The statistically significant main effect was for the independent variable marital status. The results for main effects indicated that those who reported they were divorced had a mean score significantly higher, depicting a more positive attitude toward homosexuality, than subjects who reported being single/widow/widower. None of the 13 interactions were statistically significant at the .05 level. The results of the present study appear to support the following generalizations: 1. Divorced faculty had a more positive attitude toward homosexuality than single/widow/widower faculty. 2. There is no association between faculty gender and attitude toward homosexuality. 3. There is no association between faculty age and attitude toward homosexuality. 4. There is no association between faculty religious preference and attitude toward homosexuality. 5. There is no association between faculty educational status attained and attitude toward homosexuality.