Illness concerns, attitudes towards homosexuality, and social support in gay men with AIDS

High levels of illness-related psychologic distress, marked social stigmatization and loss of social support, and negative internalized feelings towards homosexuality have previously been reported in homosexual men with the diagnosis of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). We assessed 50 homosexual or bisexual men who were within 3 months of their AIDS diagnosis with respect to medical status, illness concerns, attitudes towards homosexuality, and social support. Subjects reported levels of illness-related concerns comparable to previously studied cancer patients. Their attitudes towards homosexuality were similar to previously studied healthy homosexual males. Their social support needs were variable, as was their satisfaction with specific types of social support. Their social networks were moderately small. In this AIDS subject group, illness concerns, attitudes toward homosexuality, and social support satisfaction were significantly correlated with each other, and with previously reported levels of psychologic distress and subjective (but not objective) measures of health status.     

The effect of a biological explanation on attitudes towards homosexual persons. A Swedish national sample study

Studies assessing attitudes towards homosexuals have revealed widespread homophobia. The first aim of this study was to assess potential changes in public attitudes after important legislative changes related to homosexuals in Sweden. The second aim was to test whether the attitudes differ: 1) between people who believe in biological vs. people who believe in psychological theories in explanation of homosexuality, 2) between men and women, and 3) between the older and younger age groups. To this end, a questionnaire survey of a representative, randomly selected, national sample of 992 adult Swedish residents was carried out. The response rate was 67%, which is considered high in this context. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a clear-cut change towards more tolerant attitudes towards homosexual men and women compared to earlier studies. The reasons for this change is discussed; among factors of importance are anti-discrimination legislation, increased visibility of homosexual people, and that more people currently regard homosexuality as a biologically determined, natural variant of human sexuality than was the case 10 years ago. In accordance, this study gave further support to the notion that those who believe that homosexuality is caused by biological factors have a less restrictive view on homosexuality than do people who hold a psychological view.     

The effect of a biological explanation on attitudes towards homosexual persons. A Swedish national sample study

Studies assessing attitudes towards homosexuals have revealed widespread homophobia. The first aim of this study was to assess potential changes in public attitudes after important legislative changes related to homosexuals in Sweden. The second aim was to test whether the attitudes differ: 1) between people who believe in biological vs. people who believe in psychological theories in explanation of homosexuality, 2) between men and women, and 3) between the older and younger age groups. To this end, a questionnaire survey of a representative, randomly selected, national sample of 992 adult Swedish residents was carried out. The response rate was 67%, which is considered high in this context. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a clear-cut change towards more tolerant attitudes towards homosexual men and women compared to earlier studies. The reasons for this change is discussed; among factors of importance are anti-discrimination legislation, increased visibility of homosexual people, and that more people currently regard homosexuality as a biologically determined, natural variant of human sexuality than was the case 10 years ago. In accordance, this study gave further support to the notion that those who believe that homosexuality is caused by biological factors have a less restrictive view on homosexuality than do people who hold a psychological view.     

The children of homosexual and heterosexual single mothers

Children reared in homes headed by homosexual and heterosexual mothers were compared with respect to the mothers' and children's attitudes towards marriage, procreation and homosexuality. The mothers did not prefer their chldren to be homosexual; they desired them to marry and procreate. This was expressed more unambiguously for their sons. The children mirrored these expectations, boys with greater frequency than the girls. Most of the children expressed reservations about having a homosexual mother.     

Vicarious futurity,hope, and well-being in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder

Hope is shown to provide resiliency for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) against the negative effects related to extreme parenting stressors. The broad positivity of hope may overlook opposing parental feelings about their child that may be important for well-being. Vicarious futurity (VF) is the hope and despair a parent feels for the future of their child, which reflects both positive and negative components of parental attitudes directed toward their child. In this study we examined how vicarious futurity related to hope, and how each predicted well-being in 71 parents (53 mothers) of children with ASD. Results indicated that regardless of child symptom severity, vicarious futurity strongly predicted stress experienced by parents, hope predicted depressive symptoms, and both predicted life satisfaction. Vicarious futurity and hope were found to be weakly correlated, indicating that both constructs are largely independent when influencing the well-being of parents raising a child with ASD. General hopefulness is important for parental well-being, but in the unique context of parents raising children with ASD, child focused constructs that measure both positive and negative components, such as vicarious futurity, may be more informative and useful when understanding how parental feelings about their child influence their own well-being.     

Relationship history and relationship attitudes in gay males and lesbians: attachment style and gender differences

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to assess the applicability of attachment theory to the relationships of gay males and lesbians, with particular emphasis on parental relationships, relationship satisfaction, sexual attitudes and 'coming out' as being homosexual. METHODS: Gay males (n = 77) and lesbians (n = 100) completed questionnaires assessing attachment style, working models of attachment, early relationships with parents and relationship history, status and functioning. A comparison sample of heterosexual participants completed measures of attachment style and relationship history. RESULTS: Relative frequencies of attachment styles were similar for homosexual and heterosexual samples. Contrary to previous research using largely heterosexual respondents, no link between early parenting and attachment style was found. However, homosexual males reported more positive early relationships with mothers than did females. Associations of attachment style with working models, relationship variables and sexual attitudes largely supported those based on heterosexual samples. Gender and attachment style differences were found in reported effects of 'coming out' on relationships with parents. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results suggest that insecure attachment may not be over-represented in gay and lesbian samples, but that insecurity is associated with less relationship satisfaction and with problems related to the disclosure of sexual orientation. The implications of these findings for research and clinical practice are addressed.     

Implicit attitudes towards homosexuality: reliability, validity, and controllability of the IAT

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the psychometric properties of an Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) that was adapted to measure implicit attitudes towards homosexuality. In a first experiment, the validity of the Homosexuality-IAT was tested using a known group approach. Implicit and explicit attitudes were assessed in heterosexual and homosexual men and women (N = 101). The results provided compelling evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the Homosexuality-IAT as a measure of implicit attitudes. No evidence was found for two alternative explanations of IAT effects (familiarity with stimulus material and stereotype knowledge). The internal consistency of IAT scores was satisfactory (alpha s > .80), but retest correlations were lower. In a second experiment (N = 79) it was shown that uninformed participants were able to fake positive explicit but not implicit attitudes. Discrepancies between implicit and explicit attitudes towards homosexuality could be partially accounted for by individual differences in the motivation to control prejudiced behavior, thus providing independent evidence for the validity of the implicit attitude measure. Neither explicit nor implicit attitudes could be changed by persuasive messages. The results of both experiments are interpreted as evidence for a single construct account of implicit and explicit attitudes towards homosexuality.     

Disturbance in Parent-child Relationship Following Preterm Delivery

Increasing concern is expressed that the psychosocial development of preterm infants may be hindered by a disturbance of parental attitudes following the initial period of specialised care. Attitudes of parents of 17 preterm infants were compared with those of parents of 17 full-term infants at a single semi-structured interview six to 20 months after the birth. The groups of parents were matched for parity and did not differ in their social, ethnic and educational backgrounds. There was evidence of some disturbance in parent-child relationships in the preterm group, consisting of delays in maternal attachment to the child, negative maternal perception of the child compared with expectation of an 'average' baby, and persistent parental anxiety about leaving the child with a baby-sitter. In addition, two preterm children had been abused or neglected. Parental reaction to a preterm birth is discussed and the need for adequate support to be given to parents in the early period following the birth is stressed.     

Renforcer les compétences de parents issus de milieux défavorisés : impacts d’un programme d’entraînement à la résolution de problèmes éducatifs

The difficult economic context of Western countries and sociocultural changes in family structure are increasing the complexity and diversity of parental roles in the accomplishment of everyday tasks. This phenomenon is especially marked in socially and economically disadvantaged areas, which are particularly destabilised by environmental problems. Studies in this field have suggested that parental attitudes and educational practices play a key role in the development of the child. However, these practices remain malleable, and they may oscillate between being risk factors and protective factors. Exploiting this theoretical framework with the goal of reducing the socio-affective and educational risks to children, preventive interventions can be implemented, with the aim of helping parents in their role as educators. The development of parental support programmes, involving efforts to improve parental attitudes and educational practices in a qualitative manner, can thus mediate between disadvantaged socio-economic environment and the behavioural, cognitive and affective development of the child. This article presents exploratory research on this theme, evaluating changes in the attitudes and educational skills of the parents of young children from disadvantaged socio-economic environments following their participation or non-participation in a parental education programme. Fifteen mothers from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds took part in a parental education programme entitled “Being the parent of young children” (EPJE; Terrisse and Pithon, 2008), which used a series of cartoons to address the management of educational problems. This group was compared with a control group of 10 mothers from the same socio-economic environment, matched for age and education level. All the families selected received educational assistance at home (AED) or attended clinics (Service de protection maternelle et infantile; PMI) for children under the age of six years. The two groups were evaluated with the Échelle des Compétences Éducatives Parentales (ECEP; the Parental Educative Skills Scale; Terrisse and Larose, 1999), which explores (a) the “rigidity/flexibility”, “wariness/confidence” dimensions of educational attitudes; (b) “normative/elaborative” and “severity/liberalism” aspects of parental behaviour; (c) the feeling of parental “control” according to an “internality/externality” axis. The experimental group was also evaluated to assess the acquisition of knowledge about child education and degree of satisfaction with the programme. We found that the educational attitudes of the mothers in the experimental group changed significantly more towards greater flexibility than those in the control group and, in general, their educational style evolved more favourably than that of the control group (more elaborative practices, more internalised feelings of control). Similarly, the significant difference in results in tests of knowledge before and after the programme reveals an improvement in the identification and appropriation of educational practices by parents. All the mothers of the experimental group declared that their confidence in their ability to manage the difficulties of their child had definitively increased following the programme. This exploratory study demonstrates the beneficial effects of a parental support programme, although the small size of the sample currently precludes the generalisation of these results. Nevertheless, this preliminary study improves our understanding of the processes occurring within these educational groups, the objective being to develop a feeling of competence in parents, by giving them the means to provide an educational structure favouring a better outcome for their child. This research also opens up new possibilities for considering the cultural characteristics of parents from disadvantaged environments, who often come from very different communities.     

Working with parents in parent–child art psychotherapy

This article is part of a broader study that addresses the consolidation of a parent–child art psychotherapy model. It outlines the advantages, challenges, and art interventions that can be used by art therapists when working with parents. Twenty parent–child art therapists participated in this study. Fifteen were interviewed regarding their practical experience. The therapists’ perceptions of parents’ attitudes towards the experience of participation in therapy, encouraging parents to participate in the therapy, parental guidance, using art in therapy meetings, and the therapists’ own parenting were characterized. The findings can help familiarize mental health therapists, art therapy students, and novice art therapists with the parental aspects of the parent–child art psychotherapy model.     

Effect of parent attitudes on the development of psychomotor disorders in epileptic children]

The authors studied the problem of parental attitudes assuming that in epilepsy, besides the coexistent CNS damage, the intensity and frequency of convulsive seizures, and the mode and duration of treatment which influence the functions of the child, the attitude of the parents is also very important. In the studied material of 272 cases (146 boys and 126 girls) treated in the psychiatric department and out-patient clinic in the Institute of Paediatrics, Medical Academy in Warsaw for at least 3 years three main patterns of parental attitude towards the epileptic child have been recognized: 1. overprotective attitude (58%). 2. inconsistent attitude (32%). 3. rejecting attitude (8%). Depending on these attitudes certain disturbances of psychomotor development manifested themselves or intensified, mainly in the form abnormal development of emotions and cognitive functions as well as social adaptation. In the conclusions the authors stress the widespread occurrence of incorrect parental attitudes and the necessity of psychotherapeutic influence on the parents.     

Parents of homosexuals--not guilty? Interpretation of childhood psychological data

Data obtained in a study of 200 Dutch male homosexuals in treatment contradict the idea that parents are not causing homosexuality in their sons. Notably, the combination of overconcernedness of the mother and detachment and hypercriticism of the father push the boy into avoidance of "masculine" behavior, which in turn is leading to a feeling of inferiority because the boy considers himself as lacking in manliness. The homosexual urge is an expression of an infantile longing for acceptance to counteract the loneliness and self-pity of not belonging and must be seen as a specific neurotic manifestation.     

Identifying children at high somatic risk: possible long-term effects on the parents' attitudes and feelings associated with the child

alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (ATD) predisposes the individual for serious lung disease in adulthood. The identification of ATD by neonatal screening was hypothesized to have negative long-term effects on the parents' attitudes and feelings associated with the child. This hypothesis was tested by comparing these attitudes and feelings of parents of 61 clinically healthy 5-7-year-old children with ATD versus those of parents of 61 control children without ATD. The data were collected by interviews in the home. No evidence was found to support the hypothesized negative effect on parental attitudes and feelings. A consistent but weak increase in positive feelings and attitudes toward the child was noted among the mothers of children with ATD.     

Development of the PAAI as a measure of attitudes of parents with preschool children toward substance use and abuse

Because parents have a major impact on their preschool children's development, the study of parental attitudes is crucial to understanding substance abuse behavior. This study examined the reliability of an instrument to measure attitudes of parents with preschool children regarding substance use and abuse. The sample consisted of a lower to middle socioeconomic, racially diverse population of 101 parents of preschool children. The Parent Attitude Assessment Instrument (PAAI) measured parents' attitudes toward substance use and abuse, parental role modeling, and substance abuse prevention with preschool children.     

Father-son attachment and sexual partner orientation in Taiwan

The topic of homosexual adjustment problems has never been explored in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of parental bonding in the adjustment problems of homosexuals. A total of 51 young homosexual males, 100 nonhomosexual personnel with adjustment disorder, and 124 controls were administered the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Chinese Health Questionnaire. The final parsimonious logistic regression and structural equation modeling showed paternal attachment, especially paternal overprotection, to be a predisposing factor in the development of homosexuality. Paternal attachment, introversion, and neurotic characteristics were key factors in the development of homosexuals. In particular, paternal overprotection played the most important role in the developmental process of male homosexuals. This study can be used as a reference for clinical personnel in caring for male homosexuals.     

Parental attitudes of retarded young mothers

Thirty-two retarded young mothers were found to have significantly more protective, controlling, and punitive attitudes toward their children than a control group of mothers who had completed two or more years of college work. The retarded mothers regarded their own mothers as even more controlling, protective, and punitive than they themselves were. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that increases in IQ scores of the children of retarded parents could be due to somewhat better parenting. If so, programs for retarded youngsters should place more emphasis on child rearing and family life in order to help counteract inappropriate parental attitudes that retarded children learn from their own parents.     

Preventive Intervention for Anxious Preschoolers and Their Parents: Strengthening Early Emotional Development

The high prevalence and early onset of anxiety disorders have inspired innovative prevention efforts targeting young at-risk children. With parent–child prevention models showing success for older children and adolescents, the goal of this study was to evaluate a parent–child indicated preventive intervention for preschoolers with mild to moderate anxiety symptoms. Sixteen children (ages 3–5) and at least one of their parents participated in Strengthening Early Emotional Development (SEED), a new 10-week intervention with concurrent groups for parents and children. Outcome measures included clinician-rated and parent-rated assessments of anxiety symptoms, as well as measures of emotion knowledge, parent anxiety, and parental attitudes about children’s anxiety. Participation in SEED was associated with reduced child anxiety symptoms and improved emotion understanding skills. Parents reported decreases in their own anxiety, along with attitudes reflecting enhanced confidence in their children’s ability to cope with anxiety. Reductions in child and parent anxiety were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Findings suggest that a parent–child cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention may hold promise for young children with mild to moderate anxiety. Improvements in parent anxiety and parental attitudes may support the utility of intervening with parents. Fostering increased willingness to encourage their children to engage in new and anxiety-provoking situations may help promote continued mastery of new skills and successful coping with anxiety.     

Mediating influences of social support: personal, family, and child outcomes

The mediating influences of social support were examined in a study of 137 parents of mentally retarded, physically impaired, and developmentally at-risk children. Social system theory was used as a conceptual framework for assessing the effects of social support on personal well-being, parental attitudes toward their child, family integrity, parental perceptions of child functioning, parent-child play opportunities, and child behavior and development. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses by sets, controlling for family SES and income, child sex and age, and child developmental quotient and diagnosis showed that both satisfaction with support and number of sources of support had main and/or interactive effects in all sets of outcome measures. More supportive social networks were associated with better personal well-being, more positive attitudes, and more positive influences on parent-child play opportunities and child behavior and development. Findings were discussed in terms of both methodological and conceptual contributions to understanding the broad-based influences of social support.     

Homosexual panic: a review of its concept

This paper traces the origin of the term "homosexual panic" when it was first described in 1920 to the Freudian bisexual theory of sexual development and the concepts of repressed and latent homosexuality, and questions the appropriateness of this term when used to diagnose as well as to describe different situations. Concerns are raised especially when dealing with conditions ranging from violent behaviour to outright psychotic episodes. Homosexual panic is also compared with pseudohomosexuality, and finally correlated with society's homophobic attitudes.