Attitude toward Homosexuality, Gender Role Beliefs and Religiosity among Mental Health Professionals

Abstract

Homosexuality has been a taboo since a very long time. Attitudes held by people especially care providers like mental health professionals become a cause of concern as it influences a lot of factors such as attitudes held by laymen about minority communities, help seeking behaviors in homosexuals and most importantly the whole of therapy or interventions provided. Negative attitudes can make or break the lives of such overlooked minorities. Factors such as traditional gender role beliefs which constitute age old perceptions like patriarchal supremacy, male chauvinism, the norm of women being futile and submissive as well as high levels of religiosity are shown to have an impact on attitudes toward homosexuality. This study hence aimed to investigate the relationship between attitude toward homosexuality, gender role beliefs and religiosity among mental health professionals who are currently practicing and if and how gender and educational qualification impacts such attitudes. The participants included 62 mental health professionals from South Indian states (Females- 40, Males-22). The tools used in the study were- Attitude Toward Homosexuality Scale for Indians (AHSI), Gender Role Belief Scale- Short Form and Indic Religiosity Scale. Results indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between attitude toward homosexuality and gender role beliefs and no significant correlation between attitude toward homosexuality and religiosity among mental health professionals. It was also found that gender and educational qualification does not signify changes in attitudes held by professionals.