SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2010, 38(6), 721-728

© Society for Personality Research (Inc.)

DOI 10.2224/sbp.2010.38.6.721

A survey of Chinese university students’

PERCEPTIONS OF AND attitudes towards
homosexuality

Hui Cao
Liaocheng University, Laiocheng, People’s Republic of China
Peng Wang
Shandong Normal University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China
Yuanyuan Gao
Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China

This paper was an investigation of Chinese university students’ perceptions of and beliefs about
homosexuality, their attitudes towards homosexuality, and the relationship between the two
aspects. A total of 500 students from 3 universities in China were sampled. The results were
as follows: (i) Of the 4 variables examined, the differences between participants’ perceptions
and attitudes were significant only on the basis on the students’ area of study. (ii) There was a
significantly positive correlation between participants’ perceptions about homosexuality and
their attitudes, that is, attitudes could be positively predicted from participants’ perceptions.
(iii) Perceptions and attitudes varied significantly according to the time when participants
first had contact with the term “homosexuality”. In conclusion, adequate knowledge about
homosexuality is helpful for Chinese university students in adopting much more tolerant
attitudes towards homosexuality.

Keywords: homosexuality, Chinese university students.

Hui Cao, Psychological Counseling Centre, Laiocheng University, Liaocheng, People’s Republic of
China; Peng Wang, School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, People’s Republic of
China; Yuanyuan Gao, PhD, Psychological Counseling Center, Shandong University, Jinan, People’s
Republic of China.
This study was funded by the International Training Project of Excellent Teachers in Colleges and
Universities of Shandong Province and also a study by somatization and cultural psychotherapy in
China which was an independent innovation project financed by Shandong University.
Appreciation is due to reviewers including: Melek Kalkan, Psychological Counseling and Guidance,
Ondokuz Mayis University, Kurupelit, Turkey, Email: mlkalkan@superonline.com
Please address correspondence and reprint requests to: Peng Wang, Department of Psychology,
Shandong Normal University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China 250014. Phone: +86-138-64012101;
Fax: +86-531-86180179; Email: pengsdnu@yahoo.com.cn

721
722 PERCEPTIONS OF AND attitudes towards homosexuality

Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior or interest oriented towards the

same sex, and a person with a homosexual orientation experiences sexual
attraction only towards people of their sex. In 1973, the American Psychological
Association and the American Medical Association removed homosexual acts
from the disease classification system and redefined homosexuality as a person’s
sexual, mental, emotional, and social interest in a person of the same sex, which
may or may not be manifested in their explicit behavior (American Psychological
Association, 1980).
Perceptions about homosexuality refer to an individual’s awareness or
knowledge of concepts and ideas relating to homosexuals and their behavior.
According to the results of a large sample survey in America in 1993, 6% of
males surveyed were attracted to people of their own sex. And in China, Li
(1998), a well-known sociologist, determined that between 2% and 4% of
the Chinese population was homosexual based on a survey she carried out.
Thus it is estimated that in China there are at least 30 million homosexual
individuals. General perceptions about homosexuality have progressed from
viewing homosexual behavior as criminal to believing that such behavior is not
criminal, from viewing homosexual behavior as pathological to perceiving it as
nonpathological. Previous researchers (e.g., Wang & Xu, 2004) have found that
university students’ perceptions and beliefs about homosexuality vary according
to region, age, and cultural background.
The concept of attitude relates to positive or negative evaluation of humans,
objects, or ideas, which can be reflected in an individual’s cognitions, sensibilities,
and behaviors. Previous researchers have suggested that individuals with higher
education levels seem to be more rational, tolerant, and understanding towards
homosexuality. As shown in the survey by Li (2008), the Chinese public’s
acceptance of homosexuality is increasing, and younger, unmarried, and better
educated Chinese with higher social status and higher incomes and those who
live in more prosperous cities have more tolerant attitudes. Among university
students, undergraduates, unmarried students, females, and younger students
also had more tolerant attitudes and it was found that there was a significant
difference in the acceptance of homosexuality between those from urban and
rural areas with those from urban areas being more tolerant and accepting.
In recent years, the number of researchers focusing on homosexuality has
increased. There have been many academic studies examining homosexuals’
mental health, legal status, and marriage status (Guo, 2009; Wu, 2009; Yang, 2009;
Yu & Xiao, 2008; Zhu et al., 2008). However, the quality of life of the special
group depends not only on their own ideas and the opinions of psychologists,
but also on public acceptance. University students, as representatives of those
with higher education, are likely to be more open-minded and accepting of new
thoughts and opinions; and their perceptions and attitudes can promote positive
 PERCEPTIONS OF AND attitudes towards homosexuality 723
perceptions and attitudes to homosexuality by the general public. Therefore, the
present investigation of a group of university students will be helpful in revealing
the perceptions and attitudes of the general public towards homosexuals, and thus
providing suggestions about how to eliminate prejudice against homosexuals and
develop relevant education in the future.

METHOD

Participants
Using cluster sampling, 500 students were selected from the three universities
and tested in several groups. A total of 451 (90.2%) valid questionnaires were
collected. Of the participants, 232 (51.40%) were male and 219 (48.60%) were
female; 151 (33.50%) were from urban and 300 (66.50%) rural areas; 273
(60.50%) were studying liberal arts and 178 (29.50%) were studying natural
sciences; 137 (30.40%) came from families with only one child and 314 (69.60%)
came from families with two or more children.

Procedure
The research tool was a self-administered 33-item questionnaire exploring
participants’ level of knowledge about and attitudes regarding homosexuality.
An sample item is “Gay people are sissies”. There were 15 items assessing
perceptions about homosexuality and 18 items assessing attitudes toward
homosexuality. The items on perception were measured on a 4-point Likert scale
and mainly concerned the following four elements: the nature of homosexuality,
gender consciousness (what homosexuals themselves think about their own
sexuality), sexual relationships, and the existence and lifestyles of homosexuals.
The items on attitudes were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, and dealt with
nonavoidance of homosexuality, consideration for homosexuality, homosexuals’
social rights and status, and profession and ethics. Internal consistency of the
coefficient for the factors on perception was between 0.53 and 0.73, and that
for the attitudinal factors was between 0.56 and 0.84. The internal consistency
coefficient for the perception items was 0.82, and that for the attitude items
was 0.87. The cumulative contribution rate for the four perception factors was
55.31%, and that for the attitude factors was 55.79%. The correlation rates for
the perception items were between 0.10 and 0.65 and those for the attitude items
were between 0.09 and 0.57. Additionally, the correlation between all the items
was quite strong. The communalities for the cognition items were between 0.40
and 0.71 and for the attitude items were between 0.47 and 0.64, which all reach
the validity requirements.
An open item was also included in the questionnaire to establish when, and in
what context, participants’ first contact with the word homosexuality occurred.
724 PERCEPTIONS OF AND attitudes towards homosexuality

RESULTS

Differences in Perceptions and Attitudes for Four Variables

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the differences between
the university students’ perceptions about homosexuality and attitudes towards
homosexuality on the basis of the four variables of gender, family environment,
area of study, and marital status, as shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1
Variances in Cognition And Attitudes
Gender Family environment Area of study Marital status
Cognition variances .09 .66 16.47** 0.7
Attitudes variances .65 .12 6.30* .05
Note: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01

Table 1 reveals that there is a significant difference between the students’

perceptions and their attitudes for the variable of area of study. The average
perception score of the science students (46.50 ± 6.08) was higher than that of
the liberal arts students (44.14 ± 6.00); and the science students’ average attitude
score (58.15 ± 11.52) indicated that they were more tolerant than those in liberal
arts (55.56 ± 10.16). The interaction between any two of the four variables was
not significant.

Differences in Factors of Perception and Attitudes for Each

Variable
In relation to the ANOVA, the differences between factors of perception and
attitude on the basis of the same four variables as used in Table 1, are shown in
Table 2.
TABLE 2
Variances in Factors of Perception and Attitudes
Gender Family Area of Marital
environment study status
COGNITION
Gender consciousness 1.69 6.83** 16.14** .00
Nature .09 .05 10.11** .00
Sexual relationships .71 2.07 7.88** .16
Existence and lifestyle .02 1.83 3.32 1.43
ATTITUDES
Homosexuals’ profession and ethics .13 .99 10.98** 1.18
Homosexuals’ social rights and status .29 .13 8.20** 3.03
Nonavoidance of homosexuality 9.41** 3.37 6.47* .91
Consideration for homosexuals .12 1.68 2.40 2..27
Note: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01
 PERCEPTIONS OF AND attitudes towards homosexuality 725
The statistics reveal that there is a significant difference between male and
female students on the attitude of nonavoidance (male: 11.38 ± 3.16, female:
12.28 ± 3.03). There is also a significant difference in students’ perceptions
about homosexuals’ gender consciousness on the variable of family environment
(urban: 11.10 ± 2.13, rural: 11.65 ± 2.13). There are also significant differences in
the students’ perceptions about the nature of homosexuality, homosexuals’ gender
consciousness, and attitudes regarding sexual relationships, and nonavoidance,
on the basis of the students’ area of study.

Correlation and Regression Analysis of Perceptions and Attitudes

The analysis between the university students’ perceptions and attitudes
indicates that they are correlated (r = 0.59). The regression analysis was carried
out with the students’ perceptions as the independent variable and attitudes as the
dependent variable. The results are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3
Correlation and Regression Analysis of Perceptions and Attitudes

R2 β t p

Cognition .35 .59 15.55** .00

Note: ** p < 0.01

The results indicate that the perceptions score can accurately predict the
attitude score (F = 241.94, p = .000), and the perceptions score explains 35%
of the variance of the attitude score. That is to say, students’ perceptions about
homosexuality are a reliable predictor of their attitudes to homosexuality.

Analysis of the First Contact with Homosexuality

In the investigation of first contact time, after removing the scores of 56.80%
of students who answered “I am not sure”, we gained a significant difference
from χ2 testing on the remaining answers to the question concerning when
students encountered the word homosexuality for the first time (see Table 4). The
same significant difference occurs to the first contact investigation as shown in
Table 5 (see Appendix).
TABLE 4
First Contact with the Word Homosexuality
Elementary school Junior high Senior high University χ2
and preschool school school
Frequency 19 57 86 33 53.10**
Percentage (%) 4.20 12.60 19.10 7.30

Note: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01
726 PERCEPTIONS OF AND attitudes towards homosexuality

TABLE 5
The First Contact

Mass media Listening and Actual contact School χ2

speaking education

Frequency 177 73 11 5 287.44**

Percentage (%) 39.20 9.65 2.40 1.10

Note: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01

The differences in the university students’ total scores for perceptions

and attitudes are examined with the first time they encountered the word
homosexuality as an independent variable and the results are shown in Table 6.

TABLE 6
Total Scores of Perceptions And Attitudes in Terms of Time of First Contact

Elementary school Junior high Senior high University

and preschool school school

M SD M SD M SD M SD

Perception total scores 49.42 6.04 45.00 6.24 44.57 6.03 46.42 6.00
Attitude total scores 61.21 10.71 58.11 11.36 54.40 10.11 57.49 11.60

The results show that the perception total scores are significantly different in
terms of the first contact time variable (F = 3.68, p < 0.05), and the attitudinal
total scores of participants also have significant differences according to first
contact time (F = 2.79, p < 0.05).

DISCUSSION

Research Instruments
In previous studies, self-administered questionnaires have also been used, but
all items in those studies were common multiple-choice or alternative questions,
which can be described and analyzed using descriptive statistics. (Wang & Xu,
2004; Zhang, 2006) In addition, these investigations were carried out using a
one-way perspective, and most had items concerning the definition and nature
of homosexuality in terms of cognition, and seldom focused on items such as
homosexuals’ existence and lifestyle. However, in the present study, the use
of Likert scales which require respondents to make the appropriate choice,
can reflect participants’ true ideas. We also used eight reverse-scored items,
which reduced the chances of an individual continually choosing a certain
option when they make choices. The questionnaire also had a broad coverage
of factors with a better generalizability, and so it was helpful in determining
 PERCEPTIONS OF AND attitudes towards homosexuality 727
participants’ perceptions of and attitudes towards homosexuality from various
perspectives.

Major Research Results

As shown in the ANOVA, there was no significant difference found in the
perceptions and attitudes about homosexuality between the female and male
students, except for the significant difference in the dimension of attitude towards
nonavoidance of homosexuals. This result diverges from that of Yan, Liu, and Yu
(2002), who found that the attitudinal difference was significant between male
and female university students. The divergence may result from the fact that
the study by Yan et al. was carried out a number of years ago. In recent years,
the “sex neutralization” tendency in China may mean that male and female
ideologies are becoming more and more assimilated, and thus university students
are becoming more and more similar in both perceptions of and attitudes towards
homosexuality.
According to area of study the students’ scores for both attitude and perception
were significantly different for a number of factors. Generally speaking, the
science students had much more knowledge about homosexuality and more
tolerant attitudes than did liberal arts students. Their different thinking models
may explain this. The science students, who are trained in more rational and
logical thinking, have more comprehensive cognitive views and thus more
neutral and accepting attitudes. By contrast, the liberal arts students, with their
more stabilized sensible thinking after the long-time study of liberal arts, have
more direct emotional and superficial cognitive views, and thus they may have
less tolerant attitudes.
The predictive role of perceptions relating to attitude about homosexuality can
be used to promote more appropriate attitudes and more consideration among
both students and the general public in China via relevant education and social
activities.
In the investigation of first contact time, the earlier the students were exposed to
the word homosexuality, the better understanding they had and the more tolerant
were their attitudes. Therefore, it is important to have early education on beliefs
about sexual orientation. In addition, the information delivered by Chinese mass
media should be supervised and examined so as to establish and maintain a social
environment in which homosexuality is not treated as abnormal or deviant, and
the topic is presented in a way that helps to reduce the intolerant attitudes of the
Chinese public and increase their objective understanding of homosexuality.

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