PsychologicalReports, 1990, 67, 1147-1152. O Psychological Reports 1990
AIDS KNOWLEDGE AND HOMOPHOBIA AMONG FRENCH AND AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ' GILLETTE CONNER, CHARLES L. RICHMAN, AND SUSAN WALLACE Wake Forest University CHARLES TILQUIN Universite de Bourgogne Summary.-22 male American and 24 male French college students' knowledge of AIDS scores were equivalent on a currently constructed 18-item questionnaire. Both groups answered more than 75% of the questions correctly. The American smdents' homophobic bias and reaction scores were higher than those of the French students on a 43-item homophobic questionnaire. The latter findings were interpreted as consistent with reduced effects of conservative, orthodox religion in France and the stability of traditional religious influence in America over the past t h e e decades. No relation was found between knowledge of AIDS and homophobia in these small conveniently available samples.
Certainly as far back as the Greco-Roman era, homosexual behavior has been considered to be an acceptable form of sexual intimacy, e.g., Achilles, Damon, Pythias, and the poems of C a t t d u s and Sappho. The practice of homosexuality has fluctuated cross-culturally as well as interculturally over the last 25 centuries. For whatever reasons, these variations have affected the acceptability and general attitudes concerning homosexuals. For example, Kelly (1974) describes the Etoro of New Guinea as having a preference for homosexuality over heterosexuality in belief that heterosexual activity causes failure and the destruction of crops. In contrast, some societies, in particular ones that emphasize fertility and child bearing, regard homosexual activity as taboo, e.g., Apaches were executed for homosexual behaviors. Recently, Jensen, Gambles, and Olsen (1988) noted that religious affiliation was an important predictor of attitudes toward homosexuality. They found that the British and German peoples held more liberal attitudes toward homosexual behavior than the Spanish. This finding was interpreted as a result of the conservative nature of Spanish Catholicism. Consistent with this suggestion was the finding that practicing Catholics were less tolerant toward homosexuals than nonpracticing Catholics, and that people "without religion" had the most accepting attitudes. Further, Herek (1984) reported additional evidence supporting the conclusion that negative attitudes regarding homo'This study was supported by the Wake Forest University Research and Publication Fund to Charles L. Richman. We appreciate the helpful comments provided by Terry Blumenthal and Si Gottlieb. Requests for reprints should be sent to Charles L. Richman, Department of Psyt Winston-Salem, NC 27109. chology, Wake F o ~ s University,
1148
G. CONNER, ETAL.
sexual individuals are related to being religious, attending church services, and an acceptance of a conservative religious ideology. In the 1960s and early 1970s, it was noted that Americans exhibited more liberal tendencies than the French, the latter being a predominantly Catholic country. For example, in her dissertation on attitudes toward masculine and feminine roles, Grundstrom (1976) reported that Americans were more egalitarian than French on the issues of employment rights of women (see also, Brotman & Senter, 1968). Furthermore, Athanasiou (1972) reported that in terms of deviation from the norm, many more French than Americans asserted that homosexuality is a deviant behavior, and in fact, three times as many Americans as French reported that they had had an homosexual or a lesbian encounter. These findings suggest that present day French subjects' attitudes toward homosexual behaviors would be more conservative and negative than those of Americans. The present study assessed this hypothesis by testing a group of college-age men from France and the United States on homophobic bias (prejudicial feelings toward homosexuals) and homophobic reaction (personal feelings toward relationships and working with homosexuals). These two measures were used to assess the subjects' emotional response toward homosexuality. An Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) questionnaire was also administered to estimate the subjects' understanding (knowledge base) of AIDS as related to homosexual behavior. Simkins and Kushner (1986) found that concern about AIDS was related to homophobia. However, concern and knowledge about a subject may differ. In the present study we asked whether homophobia and knowledge about AIDS are related. If one assumes that homophobic persons believe that AIDS is an "homosexuals' disease," then they may not be aware of facts regarding the prevention, diagnosis and "treatment" of AIDS.
Subjects The subjects were 22 male American undergraduate students from one Introductory Psychology class at Wake Forest University, North Carolina and 24 male French undergraduate students enrolled in first or second year courses in psychology from the Universite d e Bourgogne, France. These two universities are similar in that they both offer liberal arts programs and matriculate middle to upper-middle socioeconomic status students Apparatus The English and French language versions of our questionnaire consisted of two parts, one to assess knowledge of AIDS and one to ascertain the subjects' level of homophobia. The part concerning AIDS consisted of
CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY: HOMOPHOBIA, AIDS KNOWLEDGE
1149
18 true/false/donlt know questions which could be answered from basic knowledge derived from readily available sources, such as governmental awareness pamphlets, e.g., Runck (1986). The second half of the questionnaire contained 43 opinion and judgment statements with possible responses ranging from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5). These statements were divided into two subcategories which assessed homophobic bias and homophobic reaction toward gay men. Homophobic bias was defined as negating feelings toward homosexuals such as, "homosexuality is immoral," "homosexuality is a sin," etc. Homosexual reaction items included statements of personal involvement with homosexuals, e.g., "I would feel nervous being in a group of homosexuals," "I would feel uncomfortable if I learned my boss was homosexual," etc. Eighteen statements were derived from Larson, Reed, and Hoffman's (1980) Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Scale (HATH) and the remaining 25 items were taken from Hudson and Ricketts (1980) Index of of Homophobia. Because the two scales contained two items which were sirnilar, two of the 20 questions from Larsen, et a/. (1980) were deleted. Larsen, et al. (1980) reported the split-half reliability coefficient of the HATH Scale to be .86. Larsen, et al. (1980) suggested that the frequency of church attendance may reflect religiosity and the rejection of homosexuality as an accepted, mord pattern of behavior. They found that those who frequently attended church were less positive toward homosexuality than those who rarely attended church. Larsen, et al. (1980) suggested that these results confirmed the construct vahdity of the HATH Scale. Hudson and Ricketts (1980) reported a reliability coefficient of .90 for the Index. Hudson and Ricketts (1980) also found a .53 correlation between conservative attitudes toward the expression of human sexuality and I H P scores. They suggest this relationship reflected the construct vabdity of the Index. Procedure The subjects were tested in a group. They were instructed to answer each item honestly and told that all responses would be confidential since no names were requested on the self-paced questionnaires.
RESULTS Independent t tests were performed on the American vs French subjects' AIDS, Homophobic Bias, and Homophobic Reaction scores (the latter two measures comprising the General Homophobic Scale). Scores were the number of items correct on the AIDS scale and summed ratings on the Homophobic Scales. The two groups did not differ in their general knowledge regarding AIDS (t,, = 1.38, p>.10). Table 1 presents the means and standard devia-
1150
G. CONNER, ETAL.
tions for American and French students' ratings of total homophobic, homophobic bias, homophobic reaction, and their mean knowledge of AIDS scores. The mean percent correct answers to the AIDS questions for the American and French samples were 78% and 76%, respectively. However, both the ratings on Homophobic Bias and Homophobic Reaction measures showed that the American subjects' attitudes were considerably more negative toward homosexual persons and behaviors than were the French subjects (t,, = 9.27, p < .O1 and t,, = 15.41, p < .01, respectively). F i n d y , the Pearson correlations between the AIDS scores and Homophobic Bias and the AIDS scores and Homophobic Reactions approached zero (ps> .50). TABLE 1 MEANSAND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FORAMERICAN A N D FRENCH STUDENTS' TOTAL HOMOPHOBIC, HOMOPHOBIC BIAS, HOMOPI-IOBIC ACTION SCORES, AND KNOWLEDGE OF AIDS SCORES Sample
No. of Subjects
American
22 24
French
Total Homophobic
Homophobic Bias
Homophobic Reaction
Knowledge of AIDS
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
161 108
21.5 28.0
50 33
13.0 12.1
111 75
10.6 18.0
14.0 13.6
2.0 2.0
DISCUSSION The present results suggest that in both cultures male college students have accurate and equivalent information about AIDS and that this knowledge is not related to homophobic fears and prejudices. The former findings replicate Poppen, Portner, Tantleff, Ault, Lane, and Gabrielson (1989) who reported that more than 80% of the questions regarding AIDS were answered correctly by American subjects. Significant cultural differences were found in the students' attitudes toward and bias about homosexuals and homosexuality. Our results showed that the 24 French male college age students were less prejudicial and biased toward homosexual sexual practices than were the 22 American students. However, it should be emphasized that the present American data were obtained from students attending a small residential, private university, located in a city of less than 150,000 people. Students from a large university located in an urban center may have given different responses. This notion is supported by Herek's (1984) suggestion that young people living in rural areas or small towns are more negative toward homosexuals than urban persons. Researchers do not agree on the size of this difference since Fyfe (1983) suggested that many Americans are homophobic. Athanasiou (1972) found Americans were more accepting of homosexuals than the French, which is contradictory to the present findings. Why such an apparent discrepancy? Perhaps 20 years does make a difference. The
CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY: HOMOPHOBIA. AIDS KNOWLEDGE
1151
present study was performed in 1988 whereas Athanasiou's work was completed in the late 1960s, a time in which Americans were experimenting with very liberal and open attitudes. I t is clear from Davis and Smith's (1984) opinion research that Americans changed little from 1973 to 1984 in their negative attitudes toward homosexuality. When asked the question, "Are sexual relations between two adults of the same sex always wrong," 74% and 73% of the respondents in 1973 and 1984, respectively, said "yes." Although Americans were assumed to take a liberal stance on most issues (e.g., race, poverty, abortion, etc.) during the late 1960s and early 1970s, these attitudes did not include attitudes toward the homosexual community. In France evidence suggests that over the past decade the French have modified their attitudes toward homosexual behavior. For example, the French have moved toward more liberal sexual attitudes; in fact, they have been encouraged to test sexual patterns other than the traditional marital ones (Belorgey, 1975). Articles and reviews in upper-middle class French magazines such as Slama's (1989) review of Fernandez's "Le Rapt de Ganymede" regarding homosexuality wouId probably not have been published 25 years ago. In a similar vein, Bergen and Williams (1989) found that sex stereotyping by Americans had changed little over the past two decades, whereas Norwegian subjects appeared to have modified their attitudes substantially over the past 10 years. I n support of this observation, French students' attitudes toward homosexuality have changed considerably from the early 1970s to the 1980s (Werebe, 1983). The most noted examples of the French liberal stance are seen through their strategies to limit the spread of AIDS by providing education for drug users on the dangers of AIDS and, in particular, the open sale of syringes (Olievenstein, 1988). In summary, perhaps the French middle-class, male college students have become more accepting of homosexual behaviors over the past 30 years, whereas American middle-class male students have not modified their negative attitudes. Whether these attitudes are similar in other social groups and/or settings in both France and America is unknown and must be assessed since only small, nonrepresentative samples from single institutions were tested i n the present research. REFERENCES
ATHANASIOU, R. (1972) French and American sexuality. Psychology Today, 6(2), 54-56, 86-87. BELORGEY, J. (1975) Problems of the family and sexuality: the evolution of the attitude of government. Evolution Psychiatrique, 40, 501-512. BERGEN,D. J., & WILLIAMS, J. E. (1989) Sex stereotypes in the United States of American revisited, 1972-1988. Paper presented at the American Psychological Society meeting, Alexandria, Virginia. BROTMAN, J., & SENTER,R. J. (1968) Attitudes toward Feminism in &fferent national student groups. Journal of Social Psychology, 76, 137-138.
1152
G. CONNER, ETAL.
DAVIS, J. A., & SMITH, T. (1984) General social surveys, 1172-1184: cumulative h t a . New Haven, CT: Yale University, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. FERNANDEZ, D. (1989) Le rapt de Ganyrnede. Paris: Grosset. FYFE, B. (1983) "Homophobia" or homosexual bias reconsidered. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 12, 549-554. GRLJNDSTROM, V. F. (1976) Masculine/feminine role related attitudes of univenity students in the United States and France. Dissertation Abstracts International, 36, 8336. HEREK, G. (1984) Beyond "homophobia": a social psychological perspective on attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 10, 1-21. HUDSON,W.W., & RICKETS, W. S. (1980) A strategy for the measurement of homophobia. Journal of Homosexuality, 5, 357-372. JENSEN,L. D., GAMBLES,D., & OLSEN,J. (1988) Attitudes toward homosexuality: a cross-cultural analysis of predictors. InternationalJorrrnal of Social Psychiatry, 34, 47-57. KELLY, R. (1974) Witchcraft and sexual relations: an exploration in the social and semantic implications of the structure of belief. Paper presented at the American Anthropological Association meetings, Mexico. LARSON,K. S., REED, M., & HOFFMAN,S. (i980) Attitudes of heterosexuals toward homosexuality: a Likert-type scale and contrast validity. Journal of Sex Research, 16, 245-257. OLIEVENSTEIN, C. (1988) Drug addiction and AIDS in France in 1987. National Institute on Drug Abuse: Research Monograph Series, 80, 114-118. POPPEN,I? J., PORTNER,C. J., TANTLEFF,S., AULT, D., LANE,B., & GABRIELSON, K. (1989) Knowledge and sexual behavior in the era of AIDS. Paper presented at American Psychological Society meetings, Alexandria, Virginia. RWCK, B. (1986) Coping with AIDS: psychological and social considerations in helping people with HTLV-I11 infection. Science Communication Branch, Office of Scientific Communication, National Institute of Mental Health. [DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 85-14321 SIMKINS,L., & KUSHNER,A . (1986) Atrirudes toward AIDS, Herpes 11, and toxic shock syndrome: two years later. Psychological Reports, 59, 2, 883-891. SLAMA,A. G. (1989) Y-a-t-il une culture. Le Point, 858, 12-15. WEEBE, M. J. (1983) Attitudes of French adolescents toward sexuality. Journal of Adolescence, 145-159. Accepted November 28, 1990.
AIDS KNOWLEDGE AND HOMOPHOBIA AMONG FRENCH AND AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ' GILLETTE CONNER, CHARLES L. RICHMAN, AND SUSAN WALLACE Wake Forest University CHARLES TILQUIN Universite de Bourgogne Summary.-22 male American and 24 male French college students' knowledge of AIDS scores were equivalent on a currently constructed 18-item questionnaire. Both groups answered more than 75% of the questions correctly. The American smdents' homophobic bias and reaction scores were higher than those of the French students on a 43-item homophobic questionnaire. The latter findings were interpreted as consistent with reduced effects of conservative, orthodox religion in France and the stability of traditional religious influence in America over the past t h e e decades. No relation was found between knowledge of AIDS and homophobia in these small conveniently available samples.
Certainly as far back as the Greco-Roman era, homosexual behavior has been considered to be an acceptable form of sexual intimacy, e.g., Achilles, Damon, Pythias, and the poems of C a t t d u s and Sappho. The practice of homosexuality has fluctuated cross-culturally as well as interculturally over the last 25 centuries. For whatever reasons, these variations have affected the acceptability and general attitudes concerning homosexuals. For example, Kelly (1974) describes the Etoro of New Guinea as having a preference for homosexuality over heterosexuality in belief that heterosexual activity causes failure and the destruction of crops. In contrast, some societies, in particular ones that emphasize fertility and child bearing, regard homosexual activity as taboo, e.g., Apaches were executed for homosexual behaviors. Recently, Jensen, Gambles, and Olsen (1988) noted that religious affiliation was an important predictor of attitudes toward homosexuality. They found that the British and German peoples held more liberal attitudes toward homosexual behavior than the Spanish. This finding was interpreted as a result of the conservative nature of Spanish Catholicism. Consistent with this suggestion was the finding that practicing Catholics were less tolerant toward homosexuals than nonpracticing Catholics, and that people "without religion" had the most accepting attitudes. Further, Herek (1984) reported additional evidence supporting the conclusion that negative attitudes regarding homo'This study was supported by the Wake Forest University Research and Publication Fund to Charles L. Richman. We appreciate the helpful comments provided by Terry Blumenthal and Si Gottlieb. Requests for reprints should be sent to Charles L. Richman, Department of Psyt Winston-Salem, NC 27109. chology, Wake F o ~ s University,
1148
G. CONNER, ETAL.
sexual individuals are related to being religious, attending church services, and an acceptance of a conservative religious ideology. In the 1960s and early 1970s, it was noted that Americans exhibited more liberal tendencies than the French, the latter being a predominantly Catholic country. For example, in her dissertation on attitudes toward masculine and feminine roles, Grundstrom (1976) reported that Americans were more egalitarian than French on the issues of employment rights of women (see also, Brotman & Senter, 1968). Furthermore, Athanasiou (1972) reported that in terms of deviation from the norm, many more French than Americans asserted that homosexuality is a deviant behavior, and in fact, three times as many Americans as French reported that they had had an homosexual or a lesbian encounter. These findings suggest that present day French subjects' attitudes toward homosexual behaviors would be more conservative and negative than those of Americans. The present study assessed this hypothesis by testing a group of college-age men from France and the United States on homophobic bias (prejudicial feelings toward homosexuals) and homophobic reaction (personal feelings toward relationships and working with homosexuals). These two measures were used to assess the subjects' emotional response toward homosexuality. An Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) questionnaire was also administered to estimate the subjects' understanding (knowledge base) of AIDS as related to homosexual behavior. Simkins and Kushner (1986) found that concern about AIDS was related to homophobia. However, concern and knowledge about a subject may differ. In the present study we asked whether homophobia and knowledge about AIDS are related. If one assumes that homophobic persons believe that AIDS is an "homosexuals' disease," then they may not be aware of facts regarding the prevention, diagnosis and "treatment" of AIDS.
Subjects The subjects were 22 male American undergraduate students from one Introductory Psychology class at Wake Forest University, North Carolina and 24 male French undergraduate students enrolled in first or second year courses in psychology from the Universite d e Bourgogne, France. These two universities are similar in that they both offer liberal arts programs and matriculate middle to upper-middle socioeconomic status students Apparatus The English and French language versions of our questionnaire consisted of two parts, one to assess knowledge of AIDS and one to ascertain the subjects' level of homophobia. The part concerning AIDS consisted of
CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY: HOMOPHOBIA, AIDS KNOWLEDGE
1149
18 true/false/donlt know questions which could be answered from basic knowledge derived from readily available sources, such as governmental awareness pamphlets, e.g., Runck (1986). The second half of the questionnaire contained 43 opinion and judgment statements with possible responses ranging from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5). These statements were divided into two subcategories which assessed homophobic bias and homophobic reaction toward gay men. Homophobic bias was defined as negating feelings toward homosexuals such as, "homosexuality is immoral," "homosexuality is a sin," etc. Homosexual reaction items included statements of personal involvement with homosexuals, e.g., "I would feel nervous being in a group of homosexuals," "I would feel uncomfortable if I learned my boss was homosexual," etc. Eighteen statements were derived from Larson, Reed, and Hoffman's (1980) Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Scale (HATH) and the remaining 25 items were taken from Hudson and Ricketts (1980) Index of of Homophobia. Because the two scales contained two items which were sirnilar, two of the 20 questions from Larsen, et a/. (1980) were deleted. Larsen, et al. (1980) reported the split-half reliability coefficient of the HATH Scale to be .86. Larsen, et al. (1980) suggested that the frequency of church attendance may reflect religiosity and the rejection of homosexuality as an accepted, mord pattern of behavior. They found that those who frequently attended church were less positive toward homosexuality than those who rarely attended church. Larsen, et al. (1980) suggested that these results confirmed the construct vahdity of the HATH Scale. Hudson and Ricketts (1980) reported a reliability coefficient of .90 for the Index. Hudson and Ricketts (1980) also found a .53 correlation between conservative attitudes toward the expression of human sexuality and I H P scores. They suggest this relationship reflected the construct vabdity of the Index. Procedure The subjects were tested in a group. They were instructed to answer each item honestly and told that all responses would be confidential since no names were requested on the self-paced questionnaires.
RESULTS Independent t tests were performed on the American vs French subjects' AIDS, Homophobic Bias, and Homophobic Reaction scores (the latter two measures comprising the General Homophobic Scale). Scores were the number of items correct on the AIDS scale and summed ratings on the Homophobic Scales. The two groups did not differ in their general knowledge regarding AIDS (t,, = 1.38, p>.10). Table 1 presents the means and standard devia-
1150
G. CONNER, ETAL.
tions for American and French students' ratings of total homophobic, homophobic bias, homophobic reaction, and their mean knowledge of AIDS scores. The mean percent correct answers to the AIDS questions for the American and French samples were 78% and 76%, respectively. However, both the ratings on Homophobic Bias and Homophobic Reaction measures showed that the American subjects' attitudes were considerably more negative toward homosexual persons and behaviors than were the French subjects (t,, = 9.27, p < .O1 and t,, = 15.41, p < .01, respectively). F i n d y , the Pearson correlations between the AIDS scores and Homophobic Bias and the AIDS scores and Homophobic Reactions approached zero (ps> .50). TABLE 1 MEANSAND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FORAMERICAN A N D FRENCH STUDENTS' TOTAL HOMOPHOBIC, HOMOPHOBIC BIAS, HOMOPI-IOBIC ACTION SCORES, AND KNOWLEDGE OF AIDS SCORES Sample
No. of Subjects
American
22 24
French
Total Homophobic
Homophobic Bias
Homophobic Reaction
Knowledge of AIDS
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
161 108
21.5 28.0
50 33
13.0 12.1
111 75
10.6 18.0
14.0 13.6
2.0 2.0
DISCUSSION The present results suggest that in both cultures male college students have accurate and equivalent information about AIDS and that this knowledge is not related to homophobic fears and prejudices. The former findings replicate Poppen, Portner, Tantleff, Ault, Lane, and Gabrielson (1989) who reported that more than 80% of the questions regarding AIDS were answered correctly by American subjects. Significant cultural differences were found in the students' attitudes toward and bias about homosexuals and homosexuality. Our results showed that the 24 French male college age students were less prejudicial and biased toward homosexual sexual practices than were the 22 American students. However, it should be emphasized that the present American data were obtained from students attending a small residential, private university, located in a city of less than 150,000 people. Students from a large university located in an urban center may have given different responses. This notion is supported by Herek's (1984) suggestion that young people living in rural areas or small towns are more negative toward homosexuals than urban persons. Researchers do not agree on the size of this difference since Fyfe (1983) suggested that many Americans are homophobic. Athanasiou (1972) found Americans were more accepting of homosexuals than the French, which is contradictory to the present findings. Why such an apparent discrepancy? Perhaps 20 years does make a difference. The
CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY: HOMOPHOBIA. AIDS KNOWLEDGE
1151
present study was performed in 1988 whereas Athanasiou's work was completed in the late 1960s, a time in which Americans were experimenting with very liberal and open attitudes. I t is clear from Davis and Smith's (1984) opinion research that Americans changed little from 1973 to 1984 in their negative attitudes toward homosexuality. When asked the question, "Are sexual relations between two adults of the same sex always wrong," 74% and 73% of the respondents in 1973 and 1984, respectively, said "yes." Although Americans were assumed to take a liberal stance on most issues (e.g., race, poverty, abortion, etc.) during the late 1960s and early 1970s, these attitudes did not include attitudes toward the homosexual community. In France evidence suggests that over the past decade the French have modified their attitudes toward homosexual behavior. For example, the French have moved toward more liberal sexual attitudes; in fact, they have been encouraged to test sexual patterns other than the traditional marital ones (Belorgey, 1975). Articles and reviews in upper-middle class French magazines such as Slama's (1989) review of Fernandez's "Le Rapt de Ganymede" regarding homosexuality wouId probably not have been published 25 years ago. In a similar vein, Bergen and Williams (1989) found that sex stereotyping by Americans had changed little over the past two decades, whereas Norwegian subjects appeared to have modified their attitudes substantially over the past 10 years. I n support of this observation, French students' attitudes toward homosexuality have changed considerably from the early 1970s to the 1980s (Werebe, 1983). The most noted examples of the French liberal stance are seen through their strategies to limit the spread of AIDS by providing education for drug users on the dangers of AIDS and, in particular, the open sale of syringes (Olievenstein, 1988). In summary, perhaps the French middle-class, male college students have become more accepting of homosexual behaviors over the past 30 years, whereas American middle-class male students have not modified their negative attitudes. Whether these attitudes are similar in other social groups and/or settings in both France and America is unknown and must be assessed since only small, nonrepresentative samples from single institutions were tested i n the present research. REFERENCES
ATHANASIOU, R. (1972) French and American sexuality. Psychology Today, 6(2), 54-56, 86-87. BELORGEY, J. (1975) Problems of the family and sexuality: the evolution of the attitude of government. Evolution Psychiatrique, 40, 501-512. BERGEN,D. J., & WILLIAMS, J. E. (1989) Sex stereotypes in the United States of American revisited, 1972-1988. Paper presented at the American Psychological Society meeting, Alexandria, Virginia. BROTMAN, J., & SENTER,R. J. (1968) Attitudes toward Feminism in &fferent national student groups. Journal of Social Psychology, 76, 137-138.
1152
G. CONNER, ETAL.
DAVIS, J. A., & SMITH, T. (1984) General social surveys, 1172-1184: cumulative h t a . New Haven, CT: Yale University, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. FERNANDEZ, D. (1989) Le rapt de Ganyrnede. Paris: Grosset. FYFE, B. (1983) "Homophobia" or homosexual bias reconsidered. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 12, 549-554. GRLJNDSTROM, V. F. (1976) Masculine/feminine role related attitudes of univenity students in the United States and France. Dissertation Abstracts International, 36, 8336. HEREK, G. (1984) Beyond "homophobia": a social psychological perspective on attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 10, 1-21. HUDSON,W.W., & RICKETS, W. S. (1980) A strategy for the measurement of homophobia. Journal of Homosexuality, 5, 357-372. JENSEN,L. D., GAMBLES,D., & OLSEN,J. (1988) Attitudes toward homosexuality: a cross-cultural analysis of predictors. InternationalJorrrnal of Social Psychiatry, 34, 47-57. KELLY, R. (1974) Witchcraft and sexual relations: an exploration in the social and semantic implications of the structure of belief. Paper presented at the American Anthropological Association meetings, Mexico. LARSON,K. S., REED, M., & HOFFMAN,S. (i980) Attitudes of heterosexuals toward homosexuality: a Likert-type scale and contrast validity. Journal of Sex Research, 16, 245-257. OLIEVENSTEIN, C. (1988) Drug addiction and AIDS in France in 1987. National Institute on Drug Abuse: Research Monograph Series, 80, 114-118. POPPEN,I? J., PORTNER,C. J., TANTLEFF,S., AULT, D., LANE,B., & GABRIELSON, K. (1989) Knowledge and sexual behavior in the era of AIDS. Paper presented at American Psychological Society meetings, Alexandria, Virginia. RWCK, B. (1986) Coping with AIDS: psychological and social considerations in helping people with HTLV-I11 infection. Science Communication Branch, Office of Scientific Communication, National Institute of Mental Health. [DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 85-14321 SIMKINS,L., & KUSHNER,A . (1986) Atrirudes toward AIDS, Herpes 11, and toxic shock syndrome: two years later. Psychological Reports, 59, 2, 883-891. SLAMA,A. G. (1989) Y-a-t-il une culture. Le Point, 858, 12-15. WEEBE, M. J. (1983) Attitudes of French adolescents toward sexuality. Journal of Adolescence, 145-159. Accepted November 28, 1990.
