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Sexual Prejudice in Portugal: Results from the First Wave European Study on Heterosexual’s Attitudes Toward Same-Gender Marriage and Parenting

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to document the prevalence and evolution of sexual prejudice toward gay men and lesbian, same-gender marriage, and same-gender parenting among a large sample of Portuguese young adults. The sample consisted of 704 self-identified heterosexual individuals (24% men and 76% women), aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 22; SD = 3), who participated in an online survey. ANOVA results revealed that women were less sexually prejudiced, were less likely to endorse social etiological beliefs of homosexuality, and were more supportive of same-gender marriage and same-gender parenting than were men. Further mediation analysis revealed that the effects of gender, religiosity, importance of religious beliefs, and political leaning on the support for same-gender marriage and same-gender parenting were partially mediated by etiological beliefs and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. The complexity of attitudes toward same-gender marriage and same-gender parenting was highlighted, indicating how attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and the belief that homosexuality is controllable impact on the support for same-gender parented families. These results are important to inform affirmative polities designed to correct inequalities and recognize same-gender families.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. William James Center for Research, ISPA-University Institute, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, n° 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal

    Pedro Alexandre Costa & Francis Anne Carneiro

  2. ISPA-University Institute, Lisbon, Portugal

    Francesca Esposito

  3. Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Salvatore D’Amore

  4. Alliant International University, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Robert-Jay Green

Authors
  1. Pedro Alexandre Costa
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  2. Francis Anne Carneiro
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  3. Francesca Esposito
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  4. Salvatore D’Amore
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  5. Robert-Jay Green
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Correspondence to Pedro Alexandre Costa.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

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Costa, P.A., Carneiro, F.A., Esposito, F. et al. Sexual Prejudice in Portugal: Results from the First Wave European Study on Heterosexual’s Attitudes Toward Same-Gender Marriage and Parenting. Sex Res Soc Policy 15, 99–110 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0292-y

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