Resumo

ACUNA-RUIZ, Andrea Elizabeth  e  OYUELA VARGAS, Raúl. Prejudice differences about male homosexuality in three age groups from a sample of heterosexual men and women. Psicol. Caribe [online]. 2006, n.18, pp. 58-88. ISSN 0123-417X.

Prejudices attitudes and beliefs of heterosexual people towards male homosexuality have been changing positively over the years. This investigation compared prejudices attitudes and beliefs of heterosexual people towards homosexual men at three different age ranges of development. A questionnaire with dichotomous answers was designed for the purpose of this study. The content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by expert judges in the area. The instrument was constructed, based on three of the four dimensions of the “Escala de actitudes hacia la Homosexualidad” (Barra, 2002). The participants were 240 volunteers who were distributed in three groups according to their age developmental stage: in the young adulthood group there were 80 participants between 18-30 years of age (40 men and 40 women); in the adulthood group there were 80 participants between 31-55 years of age (40 men and 40 women), and in the senior group there were 80 participants 56 up (40 men and 40 women). The results suggested that the higher the psychosocial stage, the higher the negative attitudes and beliefs of heterosexual people towards the male homosexual population.

Palavras-chave : Prejudice (40070); Homosexuality (23230); Sex discrimination (46875); Heterosexuality (22840); Attitudes toward homosexuality/homophobia (23233); Gender identity (20717).