Impact of College
on Student Attitudes Toward Gay and
Lesbian Issues
Discussion - Implications for Future
Research on Attitudes
By Diana Kardia
Copyright 1996, Diana Kardia
Reprinted with author's permission.
Theoretical Foundations
While Weidman's model of undergraduate
socialization has been insufficiently
tested through empirical means, the
adaptation of this model presented in
Chapter Two proved a useful theoretical
tool for conceptualizing and articulating
the impact of college on students' attitudes
toward sexual diversity. This model
proved adequate for reflecting the complexity
of attitudinal influences through its
inclusion of formal and informal contexts,
intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics,
and local and global influences. Future
research could further test the adequacy
of this model for understanding student
attitudes toward sexual diversity by
exploring aspects of the model not fully
developed in this study. In particular,
Weidman gives specific attention to
ongoing parental influence during the
college years-an influence that is evidenced
but not sufficiently explored in this
study. The relevance of non-college
reference points is also an important
consideration for the study of students'
acceptance of sexual diversity. Multi-institution
research that includes analysis of these
influences would greatly aid in creating
a better understanding of this aspect
of Weidman's model.
A theoretical assumption that was found
to be inadequate for this work was the
assumption that the full range of attitudes
toward sexual diversity could be explained
within the context of a single model.
There are two primary considerations
with respect to this assumption. First,
this study did test the question, raised
by prior research, of whether separate
models were needed to explain women's
and men's attitudes. With respect to
the Sexual Diversity Acceptance Index,
women and men's attitudes were found
to behave in very similar ways. However,
the interview data confirmed other studies
that suggest that attitudes toward sexual
diversity are multidimensional (Plasek
and Allard, 1984). Results from this
study suggests that women and men may
differ more on some dimensions than
on others. Specifically, women may be
more generally accepting of sexual diversity
than men but women and men may feel
similarly uncomfortable with public
attention to sexual diversity, particularly
direct attention through public policy.
Women and men may be equally likely
to raise concerns that lesbians, gay
men, and bisexual people are seeking
"special privileges" rather than equal
human rights, particularly individuals
who, through their own social location,
have experienced more privileged lives.
This possibility deserves specific attention
in future research, especially given
the current inequities in social policy,
which predominantly favors heterosexual
relationships, and the need for efforts
to effect equitable policy changes.
Second, there is evidence that the
process of attitudinal change may differ
based on type of initial attitude. The
ceiling effect that characterized the
Sexual Diversity Acceptance Index is
evidence that this scale did not adequately
differentiate students who enter college
with more positive attitudes regarding
sexual diversity. It is unclear from
this study whether a single scale could
capture the full range of negative and
positive attitudes: attitudes toward
sexual diversity may not be adequately
understood in terms of a linear continuum.
Furthermore, when this population was
divided into those students who entered
college with negative attitudes, those
who entered with ambivalent attitudes,
and those who entered with positive
attitudes, there were significant differences
in the amount of changes observed and
in the pattern of associations between
college attitudes and the various cognitive
states and experiences studied here.
These results strongly suggest that
future studies should not treat the
student population as a homogenous group
when investigating attitudinal change.
Replications and Extensions
This study provides strong evidence
that students' attitudes toward sexual
diversity change during the four years
they attended the University of Michigan
and strongly suggests that these changes
were due, at least in part, to experiences
that were specific to the college environment.
When considering college impact, two
significant questions emerge as direction
for future research endeavors. First,
to what extent do young adults not attending
college experience similar increases
in acceptance of sexual diversity? Second,
how similar is the University of Michigan
to other colleges and universities in
terms of changes in students' attitudes
regarding sexual diversity? Research
that addresses each of these questions
would greatly enhance an understanding
of attitudes toward sexual diversity
and the specific ways in which college
environments impact these attitudes.
Given that the specific nature of institution's
responses to sexual diversity are likely
to differ, multi-institution research
could identify and compare the effectiveness
of specific educational programs designed
to promote awareness of and respect
for sexual diversity. Such comparisons
would provide valuable information for
institutional efforts to design effective
educational programming regarding sexual
diversity. Furthermore, the current
study could not adequately assess the
impact of policies relating to sexual
diversity that affected the institution
as a whole (such as the Regental bylaw
protecting lesbians, gay men, and bisexual
people from discrimination within the
university) since all students being
studied were similarly affected by such
policies. Comparisons between institutions
that include sexual orientation in non-discrimination
policies with those that do not would
shed light on the relevance of such
policies to student attitudes.
Additional research is also needed
to identify the specific ways in which
contact with lesbians, gay men, and
bisexual people promotes acceptance
of and/or respect for sexual diversity.
Existing literature on this topic suggests
that such contact humanizes the issue
of sexual diversity, combats stereotypes
and false assumptions, promotes interdependence,
and exposes conflicts in individuals'
value system. Further research is needed
to confirm and expand this understanding
of the contact process and to examine
whether the college environment is more
conducive to productive contact than
other environments. Further research
should also investigate the relationship
between types of contact and initial
attitudes. In particular, research is
needed to explore preliminary results
found in this study indicating a stronger
association between distant contact
and college attitudes for those with
negative pre-college attitudes toward
sexual diversity and a stronger relationship
between personal contact and college
attitudes for those who enter college
with ambivalent or positive attitudes.
The evidence of a relationship between
student development and students' attitudes
toward sexual diversity needs to be
directly explored in future research.
While the current study was based on
a longitudinal design, it could not
adequately model developmental processes.
Future research should determine whether
gender differences in developmental
processes fully explain gender differences
in attitudes toward sexual diversity
and the specific ways in which achievement
of developmental tasks directly or indirectly
promotes acceptance of sexual diversity.
Furthermore, if developmental differences
between female and male young adults
do explain gender differences in attitudes
toward sexual diversity, further research
is needed to determine if these differences
decrease with age or are preserved throughout
the lifespan. Research on the relationship
between student development and students'
attitudes regarding sexual diversity
might also identify specific ways in
which institutions can work toward inclusive
communities by promoting general development
processes. In general, given the arguments
presented in Chapter Two, it is anticipated
that research that incorporates student
development will find a synergistic
relationship between student development
and students' attitudes toward sexual
diversity: developmental processes are
expected to promote students' acceptance
of sexual diversity and experiences
which promote this acceptance are expected
to also promote student development.
Research is also needed to explore
the specific experiences of students
in classroom and co-curricular environments
in which sexual diversity is addressed.
In order to be effective, such research
should focus on specific experiences
rather than relying on general self-report
measures of level of exposure (such
measures are unreliable and are biased
based on individuals' past experiences
and levels of exposure). Such research
should seek to articulate the specific
impact of such curricular and co-curricular
experiences and to identify the specific
mechanisms through which this impact
occurs.
Since some students develop more negative
attitudes toward sexual diversity and
some college environments seem to promote
more negative attitudes, future research
is also necessary to better understand
these exceptions to the general trends.
Why do some students develop more negative
attitudes when most students' attitudes
are changing in a positive direction?
Can institutional programs address this
sub-population? How are negative attitudes
toward sexual diversity explicitly promoted
in fraternities and campus religious
groups? What occurs when individuals
express positive attitudes in these
environments? Is participation in fraternities
and campus religious groups associated
with intolerance toward other aspects
of diversity, or are these negative
influences specific to sexual diversity?
The Question of Method
This study focused primarily on statistical
analyses of survey data to identify
population patterns regarding college
impact on student attitudes toward sexual
diversity. Analysis of interview data
was limited to contextualizing and expanding
the specific findings emerging from
the survey data. Given this foundation,
future research would benefit from a
grounded theory approach to a larger
pool of interview data in order to better
capture the complexity of the attitude
development process in college students.
Such an approach would be particularly
useful for identifying student perceptions
of the ways in which their own attitudes
toward sexual diversity are formed and
undergo change. Interview data would
also be particularly useful for understanding
exceptions to general population patterns
such as students who develop more negative
attitudes while at college or students
who express positive attitudes within
contexts generally associated with more
negative attitudes (such as the fraternity
system).
This research experience also gave
me considerable food for thought regarding
the conditions under which such interviews
might be conducted. I know that I could
not go back and begin this study with
a different approach-I needed the distances,
the conflicts, the contradictions, and
the paradoxes that were embedded in
this approach to learn all that I have
learned this far. However, I also know
that I cannot repeat the work I have
done here-these lessons I have worked
hard for would lose their meaning. My
own future work is likely to incorporate
some of the following ideas, generated
early on in this interview process:
Should I be envisioning a style of
research that is much more interactive?
...I really need to focus on what
is needed for people to be able to
have real conversations about all
this-not just reactivity, thoughtlessness,
and violence. I need to probe that
question more-under what conditions
can you share your views? Under what
conditions can you hear others? What
does change look like? What change
is our goal? What if I said "I am
a lesbian, sitting here talking to
you. What do you and I need to do
to coexist in the world without violence,
without misunderstanding, without
pain and hatred?" That's the kind
of question I want to ask, I think.
The questions I'm using now are an
approximation of that but only an
approximation. They miss the point
in terms of really becoming involved...
Right now I can see how much I need
to assume action-to not just walk
away knowing that I have recorded
someone's thoughts but also knowing
that I have challenged thoughts, added
to the discourse, created a situation
in which someone might better recognize
her or his own contradictions, learned
better myself how to embrace the paradoxes.
Walking away feeling like by my inaction
I have probably reinforced and helped
to hide contradictions is painful
and counter to everything that I am
about. I can't do much research that
looks like this. (Kardia, 1994)
This shift in the questions being asked
has implications for the process by
which this research may be conducted.
It suggests collaborative research,
through which the boundaries between
process and outcome, and between researcher
and respondent, become blurred. The
results of such research extend beyond
the meaning assigned in an academic
setting-the immediate outcomes of such
research endeavors are meaningful first
within the context of the relationships
that have been formed. Such research
is concerned not only with what has
been found, but also with what has been
created.
This piece has been excerpted from
"Diversity's Closet: Student Attitudes
Toward Lesbians, Gay Men, And Bisexual
People on a Multicultural Campus" by
Diana Kardia. If you would like more
information on this study you may email
the author at: dbk@umich.edu.
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