Abstract

Social policy concerns groups. Specifically, social policies have been implemented as a means to affect the well-being of sexual and gender minorities, including areas such as health, employment, violence, and many others. Undergraduate student opinions on such policies are an understudied area of survey research. Possible correlates of support for such policy areas include, but are not limited to, sexual prejudice, attributions, increased contact with the minority group, gender, Para-social contact, and many others. This research administered a 55-item survey to undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida. With a sample of 210 individuals, this study aimed to answer the following research question. Which explanatory variables are most correlated with support for social policies and rights regarding sexual and gender minorities? Dimension reduction techniques were utilized to create three sub-scales that measure the dependent variable: Alternative Relationship Recognitions, Socio-Political and Economic Goals, and Basic Freedoms. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were reported, confirming the internal consistencies of the dimensions. Bivariate correlation analyses revealed a number of variables with consistent relationships to the dependent variable: sexual prejudice, attributions that view homosexuality as something with which an individual is born, support for abortion rights, partisan identification, ideology, religious affiliation, and religious attendance. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models further assessed the nature of the relationships; sexual prejudice was the most correlated with support for social policies and rights pertaining to sexual and gender minorities. Discussions of findings, limitations of this research, directions for future research, and empirical implications are provided accordingly.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2013

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Fine, Terri S.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Political Science

Degree Program

Political Science

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004533

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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