The relationship of authoritarianism and related constructs to attitudes toward homosexuality

Two studies examined the relationships of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), dogmatism, social dominance orientation (SDO), and political-economic conservatism (PEC) to attitudes toward homosexuality. Study I, a meta-analysis, found that all 4 variables were related to attitudes toward homosexuality, with RWA having the largest relationship. Study 2 examined the relationships of the 4 variables to attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in a college-student sample. Although all 4 variables had zero-order correlations with these attitudes, RWA and SDO were the primary predictors, with RWA having the larger relationship. In addition, the zero-order correlations of PEC and dogmatism could be explained by their overlap with SDO and RWA, and SDO partially mediated the gender difference found in attitudes toward gay men.