ATTITUDES TOWARD SAME-SEX ORIENTED PEOPLE IN THE POLICE AND HEALTH CARE SECTORS

Abstract

Stavovi prema različitim manjinskim skupinama ponekad se formiraju na osnovi premalog broja pojednostavljenih, pristranih i neopravdanih generalizacija. Iako zadnjih godina postaju pozitivniji, prema osobama istospolne orijentacije još prevladavaju negativni stavovi (Buck i sur., 2013.). Osnovni cilj rada bio je ispitati stavove prema istospolno orijentiranim osobama među učenicima i zaposlenicima u sektorima zdravstva i policije. Sudjelovalo je 990 sudionika (501 učenika i 489 zaposlenika). Primijenjena je Skala za mjerenje stavova prema homoseksualnim osobama sastavljena na Odsjeku za psihologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu (prema Parmač, 2005.). Rezultati provedenih analiza varijance i regresijskih analiza pokazali su da su prosječni stavovi sudionika u području neutralnih, ali postoje razlike s obzirom na to jesu li objekt stava muške ili ženske istospolno orijentirane osobe. Kad su objekt stava ženske istospolno orijentirane osobe, sudionici iz sektora zdravstva pokazuju statistički značajno pozitivniji stav u odnosu na sudionike iz sektora policije, iako je razlika u iskazanim stavovima vrlo mala. Kad su objekt stava muškarci istospolne orijentacije, stavovi sudionica statistički su značajno pozitivniji u odnosu na stavove muških sudionika, kao i stavovi zaposlenika u odnosu na učenike. Dodatno, negativni stavovi se relativno dobro mogu predvidjeti i na osnovi uvjerenja sudionika o mogućnosti voljnog odabira vlastite seksualne orijentacije, izostanka prethodnog kontakta s osobom istospolne orijentacije te religioznosti u skladu s crkvenim učenjem. Rezultati pridonose boljem razumijevanju stavova prema istospolno orijentiranim osobama u specifičnom kontekstu zdravstvenih i policijskog zanimanja u Hrvatskoj. Ukazuju na potrebu za dodatnim radom na razumijevanju, prihvaćanju različitosti i povećanju tolerancije osobito kod učenika koji se školuju za ova zanimanja.Attitudes toward different minority groups are sometimes formed on the basis of too few simplified, biased, and unjustified generalisations. In the last few years attitudes toward same-sex oriented people have became more positive, but they are still mainly negative (Buck and others, 2013.). The main goal of this research was to look into the attitudes toward same-sex oriented people among students and employees in the police and health care sectors. The research included 990 participants (501 high school students and 489 employees) and used a questionnaire on attitudes toward homosexuals from the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb (according to Parmač, 2005). The results of both the analysis of variance and the hierarchical regression analysis show that the average attitudes of participants are neutral, but there are differences between attitudes towards same-sex oriented men and women. In the case of same-sex oriented women, the attitudes of health care sector participants are significantly more positive than those of the participants from the police sector, although the difference is very small. In the case of same-sex oriented men, the attitudes of female participants are significantly more positive than the attitudes of male participants, and the attitudes of employees are also more positive than those of high school pupils. In addition, negative attitudes can be relatively easily predicted based on the participants’ belief in the possibility of consciously controlling one’s own sexual orientation, lack of previous contact with same-sex oriented people and religious beliefs that match those of the church doctrine. The results contribute to a better understanding of attitudes toward same-sex oriented people in the specific context of health and police professions in Croatia. They point to a need for additional work on understanding, acceptance of diversity and an increase in tolerance, especially among high school students of those professions