Gonzalez 1

Homosexuality Within Our Society Literature Review

Homosexuality is a lifestyle that arises many questions in todays research. The main question that is constantly being researched what causes people identify themselves as homosexual whether it be gay or lesbian. Many of the research studies that have been employed have used twin studies to yield very similar results. Most researchers have found that there are both biological factors that play a role as well as environmental factors. There isnt a known gene yet that contributes to this biological factor but there are many current research projects trying to pin point that out. Delineating the etiology of homosexuality will allow people the scientific evidence to make decisions in regards to politics, morality, equal rights and so on. Beliefs about homosexuality and where it is derived from directly effects individuals who identify themselves that way. Therefore, Ive decided to also research how the society around us views homosexuality. Whether it be the general population of even the health care providers and future health care providers. Most of the articles used in this annotated bibliography are scholarly research journals that have been done over the course of the last few years. They types of authors that wrote many of my sources are highly qualified medical professionals, long time researchers, Professors, etc. Within this medical centered discourse community many discussions on homosexuality have been ongoing for decades. Different theories of the etiology have been brought to light as well as ways to change the societies perspective on homosexuality so that better relationships are established like doctor-patient relationships. The intended audience for this research is mostly doctors, therapists, families that are affected by homosexuality in their homes, as well as anyone else who is interested. This research is cutting edge research and is still pretty new which is why there are still a lot of gaps within it

Gonzalez 2 like the possibility of a specific gene being the cause of this. This lifestyle of homosexuality has become prominent in the more recent generations. Expectations of much more research and discoveries are to come. This research is important because it has the potential to give a better quality of life to those of the LGBT community.

For many years the topic of interest regarding homosexuality has been what is the etiology?. Researchers have done studies after studies to try and see if the root of homosexuality is influenced mainly by genetics or environmental factors most commonly known as nature versus nurture. Many researchers like Lichtenstein, employed the twin study method to try and answer this question. In the biggest twin study ever conducted in the world, the results showed that both genetic and environmental factors play a major role in the etiology of homosexuality (Lichtenstein 2013). Another study conducted that supports this same hypothesis is one done by Gabard. Using a sample of 56 pairs of identical twins, 54 pairs of fraternal twins, 142 non-twin brothers of the twins, and 57 pairs of brothers who were adopted, found that the concordance rate for homosexuality among the identical twins of the initially identified homosexual twins was 52%, among fraternal twins it was 22%, between non-twin biological brothers it was 9.2%, and for adopted brothers it was 11% (Gabard 1999). Once again this supports the same results that Lichtenstein found with his study. In another twin study done a researcher investigated a family with 14 children in which there were 3 pairs of monozygotic twins, and of these 3 pairs, 2 sets were homosexual. No different environmental factors were detected that may have played a big role in the etiology of the orientation. The fact that 4 out of the 12 kids in that family are homosexual show a strong correlation with genetics as a big factor in homosexual etiology rather then environmental factors. These results are slightly different then previous research that was done until more research is

Gonzalez 3 conducted we cant know for certain if there are any flaws in the research. A researcher trying to answer the same question of etiology introduced a different potential factor. His study explored emotionally absent fathers as one variable in the understanding of homosexuality. Levels of father/son and mother/son connectedness were measured among male Catholic seminarians in Canada. Results indicated that those seminarians who identified their sexual orientation as homosexual scored significantly lower on their level of intimacy with their fathers than did heterosexual seminarians. This created a new theory for the etiology of homosexuality, the weak father theory.

The topic of homosexuality in relation to Doctors was also investigated by several researchers. Homophobia among health care professionals is well documented but the establishment of a trustful doctor-patient relationship is impossible when homophobia is present. When looking at studies that examined homophobia within medical students researchers found that there is significant homophobia in these future doctors. In one of the studies done, the researcher administered a questionnaire to a sample of the second-year class at an introductory lecture to the course on Human Sexuality. This questionnaire asked twelve questions regarding attitudes about homosexuality. The data indicated significant homophobia. One-quarter of the students reported believing homosexuality is immoral and dangerous to the institution of the family, and expressed distaste to socializing with homosexuals. Nine percent believed homosexuality to be a mental disorder and 14% felt more homophobia since AIDS (Klamen 2013). In another similar study done a cross sectional study was preformed with the students of Hong Kong University. Attitudes toward homosexuality were compared between medical students and non- medical students. More than 25% of the medical students agreed with the statement homosexuality is a psychological disorder that requires therapy. More than 15% would avoid

Gonzalez 4 any physical contact with homosexuals to minimize the chance of contracting diseases, especially AIDS. Comparison between the medical students and non-medical students showed that the attitudes of the medical students were significantly more homophobic (W.C. Wong 2009). Apart from Future doctors, current doctors were also investigated. Even though certain health needs of the LGBT community may be unique and different then those of heterosexuals, according to her research, most doctors usually dont ask patients about their sexual orientation for reasons such as being to personal, or some doctors just arent as open minded about this type of lifestyle. The results of one study show that most of the physicians that were surveyed in this study knew less then 0.5% homosexuals in their practice, 44.4% did not even know of any homosexual patients in their practice. Only one physician in this study regularly asked his patients about their sexual orientation (Dahan 2008). Another similar study showed that discussions with patients about sexual orientation is really difficult for health care providers. Many respondents f this study believed doctors should assume all patients are heterosexual unless they are told otherwise. From this survey it is evident that doctors dont like to approach this subject, which may be why patients are more hesitant to tell their health care provider (East 1998). When looking at all of the results together it is clear that medical professionals dont seem as open to homosexuality as they should be considering their career choice. If this problem isnt challenged then trustful doctor-patient relationships will be hindered and so will the quality of healthcare for the individuals that identify themselves as homosexuals.

Lastly the topic of homosexuality in relation to the general society has research devoted to it as well. One researcher used a twin study to find in his results that heterosexuals tend to hold a negative attitude towards homosexuality, also known as homophobia. The results also suggest that differences in attitudes toward homosexuality are mainly inherited, and that social

Gonzalez 5 environmental influences are relatively minor (Martin 2008). Another researcher, Marmor, suggested that there are several ways in which the population can view homosexuality from a homophobic perspective. He says that the etiology of sexual orientation can be viewed from a scientific, ethical, or socio-politico-religious perspective (Marmor 1998). One research project focused on explores the populations beliefs of the etiology of homosexuality. Of 1,200 respondents, 25 respondents believed that genes are at least partly the cause of homosexuality, 5 participants said that genes play a role for some people but not for others, and 43 respondents felt that genes play no role. The remaining participants stated that they did not know (Sheldon 2007).

WORKS CITED
Dahan, Rachel, Rotem Feldman, and Doron Hermoni. "Is Patients' Sexual Orientation A Blind Spot Of Family Physicians?." Journal Of Homosexuality 55.3 (2008): 524-532. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Donald L. Gabard PhD (1999) Homosexuality and the Human Genome Project, Journal of Homosexuality, 37:1, 25-51.

HESTON, L. L., and JAMES SHIELDS. "Homosexuality In Twins: A Family Study And A Registry Study." Archives Of General Psychiatry 18.2 (1968): 149-160. PsycINFO. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Gonzalez 6 Jane P. Sheldon PhD , Carla A. Pfeffer MSW , Toby Epstein Jayaratne PhD , Merle Feldbaum BA & Eizabeth M. Petty MD (2007) Beliefs About the Etiology of Homosexuality and About the Ramifications of Discovering Its Possible Genetic Origin, Journal of Homosexuality, 52:3-4. Jeffrey A. East. Pediatricians approach to the health care of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. Journal of Adolescent Health. Volume 23, Issue 4, October 1998, Pages 191 193.

Judd Marmor MD (1998) Homosexuality, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 2:4, 19-28

Klamen, Debra L., and Linda S. Grossman. "Medical Student Homophobia." Journal Of Homosexuality 37.1 (1999): 53. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

Laura B. Allen. Adolescent health care experience of gay, lesbian, and bisexual young adults Journal of Adolescent Health. Volume 23, Issue 4, (1998) Pages 212220.

Laura Badenes-Ribera, et al. "Etiology Of Homosexuality And Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Parenting: A Randomized Study." Journal Of Sex Research (2013): MEDLINE. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Michael G. Shively, John P. De Cecco, Components of Sexual Identity Journal of Homosexuality. Vol 3(1), Fall (1977).

Nicholas G. Martin, et al. "Genetic And Environmental Influences On Individual Differences In Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: An Australian Twin Study." Behavior Genetics 38.3 (2008): 257-265. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Gonzalez 7 Paul Lichtenstein, et al. "Genetic And Environmental Effects On Same-Sex Sexual Behavior: A Population Study Of Twins In Sweden." Archives Of Sexual Behavior 39.1 (2010): 75-80. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Seutter, Ray A., and Martin Rovers. "Emotionally Absent Fathers: Furthering The Understanding Of Homosexuality." Journal Of Psychology & Theology 32.1 (2004): 43-49. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

Strautin, Astra Lydia. "Male and Female Homosexuality: A Review of Differential Factors in Etiology and Implications for Treatment." (1992). ERIC. Web. 19 Oct. 2013.

W. C. Wong, et al. "Homophobia In Medical Students Of The University Of Hong Kong." Sex Education 9.1 (2009): 65-80. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.