An Italian University did a study to see the correlation between homophobia and psychological problems. They had 551 students answer questions, some relevant to homophobia, and others about psychological tendencies, such as their defense mechanisms or how they get attached to people. They were to answer the questions on a scale of 1 to 5. The study found that people with more psychological problems were more likely to be homophobic; if they had immature defenses; violent tendencies or difficult being in a close relationship they often were "uncomfortable with gays".
I think that this is an interesting theory. However, higher levels of depression was correlated with less signs of homophobia, and I think they they are other factors that influence levels of homophobia, such as how someone was raised, where they live, and their levels of hypermasculinity. I just hope that over time these problems are fixed, until there are no more homophobic people. (Which seems somewhat unlikely- I would also wish that there are no racist people in the world but that doesn't seem to be happening.)
http://news.yahoo.com/homophobic-people-often-psychological-issues-121032115.html
Isabella Montague, 5th period
I agree with you that the percentage of homophobic people and racism should decrease in the near future. I also find it peculiar that homophobic people are less likely to be depressed than normal ones.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your analysis. It's a shame people judge one another, hopefully in the near future that'll change.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Arthur: 1st period