• DOI:10.1007/s40618-016-0554-1
• Corpus ID: 22591381

Cross-cultural and socio-demographic correlates of homophobic attitude among university students in three European countries

@article{Ciocca2016CrossculturalAS,
  title={Cross-cultural and socio-demographic correlates of homophobic attitude among university students in three European countries},
  author={G. Ciocca and Cinzia Niolu and Davide D{\`e}ttore and Paolo Antonelli and Stella Conte and Bogdan Tuziak and Erika Limoncin and Daniele Mollaioli and Eleonora Carosa and Giovanni Luca Gravina and Stefania Di Sante and Giorgio Di Lorenzo and Alessandra D. Fisher and Mario Maggi and Andrea Lenzi and Alberto Siracusano and Emmanuele Angelo Jannini},
  journal={Journal of Endocrinological Investigation},
  year={2016},
  volume={40},
  pages={227-233}
}

• G. Ciocca, C. Niolu, +14 authors E. Jannini
• Published 1 February 2017
• Psychology, Sociology
• Journal of Endocrinological Investigation

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate homophobic attitudes in three European countries: Italy, Albania, and Ukraine. One thousand and forty-eight students were recruited in Italian (n = 766), Albanian (n = 180), and Ukrainian (n = 102) university centers.MethodsA socio-demographic questionnaire and Homophobia Scale (HS) were administered by our staff.ResultsCross-cultural and significant differences among Italian, Albanian, and Ukrainian students were found on the Homophobia Scale (HS; Italy: mean = 22.26 ± 16.73; Albania: mean = 38.15 ± 17.28; Ukraine: mean = 59.18 ± 16.23). The analysis of socio-demographic characteristics revealed that the male gender emerged as main predictor of homophobic attitude in all the three countries, although also a conservative political orientation and the religious belief predict higher homophobia levels in Italy and Albania, particularly.ConclusionsThis study revealed that in these European countries assessed, attitudes toward homosexuality are different. Ukrainians display higher levels of homophobia than Albanians and Italians, confirming the central role of cultural differences in homophobic attitudes. Nevertheless, some socio-demographic aspects such as identification as male have a similar influence on homophobic attitudes in all assessed populations.