title: A comparison of pro- and anti-nudity college students on acceptance of self and of culturally diverse others.
abstract: This study examined if college students supportive of social nudity would differ from students opposed to social nudity on self-acceptance and acceptance of culturally diverse others. Using data from 384 participants, pro- and anti-nudity groups were formed based on students scoring in the upper (n=59) and lower (n=64) quartiles on a measure assessing attitudes toward social nudity. Hypotheses were partially supported. Results indicated that pro-nudity students significantly differed from anti-nudity students on comfort with their bodies' appearances, but not on self-acceptance. Pro-nudity students also were significantly more accepting of other religious groups and gays and lesbians compared with anti-nudity students, but they did not differ on their attitudes toward the disabled. A trend was noted indicating that pro-nudity students were less prejudiced toward ethnically dissimilar others compared with anti-nudity students. Follow-up exploratory analyses suggested that pro-nudity students' increased openness to sexuality in general accounted for the two groups' discrepant views toward religiously dissimilar others and gays and lesbians. Pro-nudity students' relative tolerance for cultural diversity is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA. cnegy@ucf.edu
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Negy
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Winton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001828:Body Image; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009715:Nudism; D011287:Prejudice; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities