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Medical student homophobia
D L Klamen1, L S Grossman, D R Kopacz
1University of Illinois, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago 60612, USA.
Objective:
To determine whether homophobia existed in a sample of the second-year medical school class before beginning a course on Human Sexuality.
Method:
We administered a questionnaire to a sample of the second-year class at an introductory lecture to the course on Human Sexuality. This questionnaire asked twelve questions regarding attitudes about homosexuality, and incorporated questions from other surveys used previously.
Results:
The data indicated significant homophobia. One-quarter of the students reported believing homosexuality is immoral and dangerous to the institution of the family, and expressed aversion to socializing with homosexuals. Nine percent believed homosexuality to be a mental disorder and 14% felt more homophobia since AIDS.
Conclusions:
Medical student homophobia, if left unchallenged, will hinder care provided to homosexual patients. Physician homophobia may disallow a healthy doctor-patient relationship and may cause a decrease in patients' ability to disclose sensitive issues.