Sexuality Research, Article Review Example

Article, Research Significance, Question and Journal

The article is entitled “A Study of Homophobia among HBCU Undergraduate Students toward Gay and Lesbian Adoption.” It forms one of the articles of the American Journal of Sexuality Education. The research question states: How do the attitudes of social work students toward gay and lesbian adoption differ in the areas of gender, age (traditional versus non-traditional), religious affiliation (Protestant versus non-Protestant), and religious participation at a historically Black college and university?Recent research has always focused on homophobia among the majors of social work. The research is significant because it concentrates on social work students in a HBCU, an area that has not been widely explored before. The research intended to determine the existing differences among the students toward lesbian and gay adoption in regard to their gender, age, religious participation and religious affiliation (McCrary, 2014). As a result, the research article is relevant to the field of sexuality.

Results

The research was conducted on 94 undergraduate students. It intended to determine whether the attitudes of the students towards lesbianism, gay and homosexuality were in tandem with the code of ethics of NASW that governed the social work practice (NASW, 2008).The results of the study indicated that gender was a pertinent determinant of the homophobic attitude of students towards gay and lesbianism. However, the research found out that there was no correlation between homophobic attitudes and the religious participation and affiliation of the students. In essence, religious attendance did not influence homophobic attitudes of the students towards gay and lesbianism.As a result, the results were not consistent with NASW findings. Furthermore, traditional-aged and non-traditional-aged students exhibited no difference in relation to the adoption of lesbianism and gay.

They also opined that it was proper for male homosexuals to adopt children just like heterosexual couples with no significant difference in the results between traditional-aged and non-traditional-aged students. Moreover, the research did not exhibit any differences among the students concerning whether it was appropriate for lesbian couples to adopt children or not. There was a significant difference between the attitudes of female and male students of social work in regard to lesbian and gay adoption. To be precise, female students expressed more support for child adoption among male homosexual couples than male students. Female students were also more likely to support child adoption among lesbian couples than male students.

Research Limitations

A non-random sample was used to conduct the study. Consequently, the results do not indicate a good representative of the homophobic attitudes of social work students in HBCU concerning lesbianism and gay. Furthermore, few students were present in the class on the day of the research. As a result, the number of research participants was inadequate for a comprehensive research. Moreover, the research did not include other aspects such as the sexual identity, previous sexual experiences with homosexual partners and bisexual sexual orientation. It suffices to state that the measures would have been substantial to enhance the scope of the research. Other areas that were not included in the research encompass the fear of HIV/AIDS, the level of education of the students and past contact with lesbians and gays.

The most interesting thing that I learnt from the article was the fact that despite the prevalent negative homophobic attitude exhibited by students towards lesbianism and gay, most of the students (particularly female) still saw it necessary for lesbian and gay couples to adopt children. It appears ironic since it indicates that to some extent, homosexual couples are acceptable in the society thus can lead normal lives and have a normal family.

References

McCrary, D. G. (2014). A Study of Homophobia Among HBCU Undergraduate Students

Toward Gay and Lesbian Adoption. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 9(3), 257-275. Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15546128.2014.916645

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (2008).NASW code of ethics (Guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers). Washington, DC.