Dr. Akiko Tsuda
Kanazawa University, Japan
Title: Attitudes and Related Factors towards Sexual Minorities Among Japanese Undergraduate Students Majoring in Health Science
Biography
Biography: Dr. Akiko Tsuda
Abstract
In Japan, there remains an insufficient level of education for medical care professionals regarding sexual minorities (LGBT), along with insensitive care for this population within medical institutions.
In order to encourage the standard inclusion of this material in the education of students training towards medical care professions, the attitudes and related factors of undergraduate students majoring in Health Science towards sexual minorities were investigated.
The goals of this study were to clarify the attitudes of students towards sexual minorities from two aspects (explicit / implicit) and to clarify the factors related to their attitudes.
Participants of the study were 838 undergraduate students. The survey used in this study assessed experience, knowledge, and explicit and implicit attitudes regarding sexual minorities. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to measure implicit attitudes.
The survey was carried out using anonymous questionnaires from July- August 2018. Responses were received from 725 students (86.5%). Results indicated that 19.9 % of them had negative attitudes towards sexual minorities, and their IAT scores were higher than those of students who didn’t have negative attitudes.
Explicit attitudes were related to direct experience, knowledge, interests, psychological distance, and acceptance. Implicit attitudes were related to informational learning, knowledge, psychological distance, and acceptance. There was no relationship between attitudes and classroom learning. Therefore, it is suggested that in order to develop students' attitudes towards sexual minorities, it is necessary to devise methods of education that extend beyond classroom knowledge and provide them direct experiences and the opportunity to think for themselves.