Homophobia and mental health : how do counselors rate?

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the attitudes of counselors toward gays and lesbians and their ratings of this population, as compared to the heterosexual population, in terms of mental health. Participants (N=92) were masters and doctoral level graduate students at a midsized midwestern university. Counselors who were more prejudiced toward gay and lesbian targets rated them as less mentally healthy than heterosexual targets. Counselors who were less homophobic did not differ significantly from more homophobic participants in terms of their ratings of mental health. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, and future avenues of research are suggested.