Attitudes of health sciences students in Turkey towards individuals with different sexual orientations

Abstract

Study was planned in a descriptive design to examine how the empathic tendencies of students in the Faculty of Health Sciences affect their attitudes toward individuals who have different sexual orientations and was conducted with seven hundred and six students. The data collected online using the Student Information Form, Empathic Tendency Scale (ETS) and Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Men Scale (ATLGS). Participants’ mean scores were 62.98±18.79 on the ESS and 29.02±10.75 on the ATLGS. When the correlation between ETS and ATLGS scores was analyzed, a positive and moderate (p<0.05) correlation (r = 0.62) was found between ETS and ATLGS scores. These scores were moderate and the correlation between ETS and ATLGS scores was significant (F=438.585; p<0.05). Empathic disposition explained 38.3% of the total change in ATLGS level (R2=0.383) and increased ATLGS level (ß=0.620). It was found that as students' empathic skills improved, their homophobic attitudes decreased.