Attitudes towards Lesbians and Gay Men among Turkish Mental Health Providers

Abstract

Studies on attitudes towards homosexuality in Turkey have revealed that university students and people within various occupations generally have negative attitudes. Studies exploring attitudes of mental health workers are very scarce. Accordingly, this study explored attitudes of Turkish psychologists and psychological counselors' toward lesbians and gay men and identified demographic and occupational factors that are related to those attitudes. With this aim, participants completed questions on demographic and occupational variables, and questionnaires assessing attitudes toward homosexuality, as well as social desirability. Results showed that participants had positive attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in general. Furthermore, their attitudes did not differ based on gender, marital status, and education level. Age and religiosity significantly predicted more negative attitudes towards lesbians and gay men. Results were discussed in the light of the previous research and recommendations for working with sexual minorities were provided. Future studies may benefit from using implicit measures to assess attitudes, and are suggested to recruit more representative samples in terms of demographic variables.

Keywords

• homosexuality,sexual orientation,attitudes,mental health,homophobia,sexual minority

Türkiye’de Ruh Sağlığı Çalışanlarının Gey ve Lezbiyenlere Yönelik Tutumları

Abstract

Eşcinsellere yönelik tutumlar üzerine yapılan çalışmalar Türkiye'de üniversite öğrencileri ve çeşitli meslek grupları arasında cinsel azınlıklara yönelik genellikle olumsuz tutumların yaygın olduğunu göstermektedir. Ruh sağlığı çalışanlarının tutumlarını inceleyen çalışma sayısı ise oldukça azdır. Bu araştırma Türkiye'de hizmet veren psikolog ve psikolojik danışmanların gey ve lezbiyenlere yönelik tutumlarını ve bu tutumları yordayan değişkenleri ele almayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu amaçla katılımcılardan demografik ve mesleki bilgi formlarının yanı sıra eşcinsellere yönelik tutumları ve sosyal arzu edilirlik düzeylerini ölçen ölçekleri doldurmaları istenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, katılımcıların eşcinsellere yönelik genel olarak olumlu tutumlara sahip olduğu bulunmuştur. Ayrıca, cinsiyet, medeni durum ve eğitim düzeyine göre kişilerin tutumları arasında fark bulunmamıştır. Tutumları yordayan değişkenlere bakıldığında, yaş ve dindarlık seviyesi arttıkça eşcinselliğe yönelik olumsuz tutumların da arttığı bulunmuştur. Sonuçlar geçmiş çalışmalar ışığında tartışılmış ve cinsel azınlıklarla çalışırken göz önünde bulundurulması gereken bazı önerilerde bulunulmuştur. Gelecekteki çalışmaların tutumları ölçerken örtük ölçümlerden de yararlanmaları ve demografik değişkenlerin dağılımı açısından daha kapsayıcı örneklemler kullanmaları önerilmektedir.

Keywords

• eşcinsellik,cinsel yönelim,tutumlar,ruh sağlığı,homofobi,cinsel azınlık

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