A comparative study of sexual attitudes towards lesbianism and homosexuality with reference to age and gender

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to find out whether age and gender have an influence on the sexual attitudes of people. The following components of sexual attitude were studied namely: Attitude towards lesbianism and homosexuality. The sample consisted of 100 subjects in which 50 were from the age group of 18-28 years further divided equally with respect to gender (25-male, 25-female) and the other 50 in the age group of 50-60 years similarly divided into male and female. 2×2 Factorial design was used as the research design for the present study. The sample was first divided in two groups on the basis of age and then further on the basis of gender. Personal data sheet and a questionnaire titled ‘Sexual Attitude Scale’ developed by Amit Abraham was used for data collection. Gathered data was calculated and analysed by F-test (ANOVA). The results revealed that subjects in the age group of 18-28 years had a favourable sexual attitude and 50-60 years had an unfavourable sexual attitude. On the basis of gender, males showed a favourable sexual attitude over females. While studying the interaction of age and gender on sexual attitudes it was found that males in the age group of 18-28 years had the most favourable sexual attitude whereas the females in the age groups of 50-60 years had the least favourable sexual attitude.