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Social Workers and LGBT Policies: Attitude Predictors and Cultural Competence Course Outcomes

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Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are gaining ground in civil rights but still experience exclusion or discrimination through social policy, and policy advocacy on behalf of LGBT people is an ongoing need. Social work practice areas intersect with policies that are relevant to LGBT people’s civil rights. This study examined the effects of social work graduate students’ gender, political views, religious attendance, beliefs about sexual orientation and gender identity choice, active critical thinking, and empathy, in combination with a cultural competence course, on attitudes about LGBT military policy, marital equality, and LGBT discrimination. Men and more conservative students had less affirming attitudes about LGBT military policy. Men and students with more conservative political ideology, less empathy, and more active thinking held less affirming attitudes about marital policy. Students who believed that sexual orientation and gender identity are not a choice were more likely to report recognition of LGBT discrimination. Students changed significantly after the course in their acknowledgement of discrimination, and attitudes stayed the same (generally affirming) about military policy and marital laws. Implications for examining critical thinking and empathy and attitudes about military policy and measuring course interventions for social workers with regard to attitudes about LGBT discrimination and related policies are discussed, and recommendations are made for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program on Intergroup Relations, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Adrienne B. Dessel

  2. Department of Social Work, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Nancy Rodenborg

Authors
  1. Adrienne B. Dessel
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  2. Nancy Rodenborg
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Correspondence to Adrienne B. Dessel.

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

Conflict of Interest

Author A (Dessel) declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author B (Rodenborg) declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Dessel, A.B., Rodenborg, N. Social Workers and LGBT Policies: Attitude Predictors and Cultural Competence Course Outcomes. Sex Res Soc Policy 14, 17–31 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0231-3

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