Sexual disgust predicts homonegativity

Previous research has reported associations between measures of sexual disgust and negative attitudes towards homosexuality (i.e., homonegativity). However, the extent to which these associations are independent of possible effects of age and sex is somewhat unclear. Consequently, we investigated relationships between measures of sexual disgust (the sexual disgust subscale of the Three Domain Disgust Scale and the Sexual Disgust Inventory) and a measure of homonegativity (the Index of Attitudes Towards Homosexuals) in 171 participants. Analyses showed that participants who scored higher on sexual disgust reported greater homonegativity and that these associations were independent of the effects of participant age and sex. These findings strengthen the evidence base for the possible effectiveness of interventions for reducing homonegativity that focus on the role of disgust.