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


METHODS
A socio-demographic questionnaire and Homophobia Scale (HS) were administered by our staff.


RESULTS
Cross-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.


CONCLUSIONS
This 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.
Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00131, Rome, Italy.
G
G
Ciocca
Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00131, Rome, Italy.
C
C
Niolu
Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
D
D
Déttore
Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
P
P
Antonelli
Catholic University "Our Lady of Good Council", Tirana, Albania.
S
S
Conte
Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
B
B
Tuziak
Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00131, Rome, Italy.
E
E
Limoncin
Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
D
D
Mollaioli
Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
E
E
Carosa
Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
G L
GL
Gravina
Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
S
S
Di Sante
Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00131, Rome, Italy.
G
G
Di Lorenzo
Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
A D
AD
Fisher
Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
M
M
Maggi
Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
A
A
Lenzi
Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00131, Rome, Italy.
A
A
Siracusano
Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00131, Rome, Italy. eajannini@gmail.com.
E A
EA
Jannini
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003710:Demography; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012938:Social Perception; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
Cross-cultural differences; Homophobic attitude; Socio-demographic characteristics
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