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. 2010 Feb 1;30(1):50-75.
doi: 10.1177/0272431609350925.

Understanding Gender Differences in Early Adolescents' Sexual Prejudice

Jessieka Mata  1 , Negin Ghavami, Michele A Wittig
Affiliations

Understanding Gender Differences in Early Adolescents' Sexual Prejudice

Jessieka Mata et al. J Early Adolesc. .

Abstract

Drawing on social dominance theory and the contact hypothesis, we developed and tested a two-mediator model for explaining gender differences in early adolescents' attitudes toward gay males and lesbians. Data from more than 400 ninth graders were analyzed. As predicted, gender differences in attitudes toward gay males were partially explained by social dominance orientation (SDO) and knowing a gay male. Gender differences in attitudes toward lesbians were partially mediated by SDO, while knowing a lesbian was not a mediating variable. Beyond their mediating roles, both SDO and knowing a member of the target group each significantly added to the prediction of attitudes toward each target group. Implications for policies to reduce victimization of sexual minorities in schools are discussed.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hypothesized model of mediation of gender on attitudes toward sexual outgroups
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mediation of gender on attitudes toward gay males by social dominance orientation and knowing a gay male
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mediation of gender on attitudes toward lesbians by social dominance orientation and knowing a lesbian
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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