Perception of Attitudes of the General Population toward Homosexuality in Taiwan: Roles of Demographic Factors, Mental Health, and Social Debates on Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage

Huang-Chi Lin, Yi-Lung Chen, Nai-Ying Ko, Yu-Ping Chang, Wei-Hsin Lu and Cheng-Fang Yen
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Huang-Chi Lin: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
Yi-Lung Chen: Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan
Nai-Ying Ko: Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Yu-Ping Chang: School of Nursing, The State University of New York, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Wei-Hsin Lu: Department of Psychiatry, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi City 60002, Taiwan
Cheng-Fang Yen: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: The aims of this online survey study were to examine the associations of demographic characteristics (gender, age, and sexual orientation), mental health status, and point in time of the survey (i.e., the beginning of the social debates on legalizing same-sex marriage vs. the end of the social debates) with people’s perception of the attitudes of the general population in Taiwan toward homosexuality. A two-wave internet survey was conducted using Facebook to gather information regarding people’s perception of the population’s attitudes toward homosexuality among 4562 participants. The five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale was used for assessing mental health status. The results indicated that participants perceived the population as having a lower acceptance at the end of the social debates on legalizing same-sex marriage than at the beginning of the social debates; gender moderated the decline in perceived acceptance. The results also indicated that poor mental health and heterosexual orientation were significantly associated with a lower perception of the population’s homosexuality acceptance in both waves of the survey. The factors related to perceived homosexuality acceptance need to be considered in developing programs to increase the population’s homosexuality acceptance.

Keywords: attitude; homosexuality; same-sex marriage; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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