Attitudes of medical university students towards the functioning of homosexual men and women in public places

Abstract

Introduction and objective Homosexual men and women are often perceived as a threat to traditional values, particularly to the family. The aim of this study is to investigate the attitude of medical university students to the functioning of homosexual men and women in society, and whether it is related to their standpoint towards homosexuality and the auto declaration of faith. Material and methods The research comprised 152 students of the Medical University in Lublin, in eastern Poland. The research method was a diagnostic survey using an original questionnaire. The data was analyzed descriptively and statistically. The non sequitur was 5% and the related significance level was p<0.05. Results 119 (78.3%) of respondents declared themselves as believers and the remaining 33 (21.7%) described themselves as non-believers. Being a believer significantly differentiated the declared attitude to homosexuality (p=0.005). Views on the four chosen social rights which could (or could not) be granted to homosexual people were divided. The variables assumed in this research significantly differentiated all the examined features (p<0.05). Conclusions The majority of medical university students declared themselves to be indifferent or negative towards homosexuality. They opposed the legalization of rights which homosexual men and women strive for, including the right to adopt children and contract a same-sex marriage. The acceptance of some social rights for homosexual men and women is significantly differentiated by the attitude of students towards homosexuality and their auto declaration of faith.

Keywords

• homosexuality
• sexual minorities
• homosexual men and women in society
• social rights