Gay Men and Lesbians in the United States Military

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)

Department

Educational Psychology

Date of Award

Spring 2022

Abstract

Within the last 20 twenty years society has experienced several changes concerning the acceptance of gay men and lesbians. This study aims to identify whether or not the changes in societal acceptance of gay men and lesbians is reflected within the United States Military With legalization of same-sex marriage and increasing acceptance of same-sex relationships, the military was expected to adjust their policies as well. Participants consisted of 93 college students and 90 services members (active duty/veterans). Participants were given one of three vignette scenarios concerning different experiences for a sergeant considering reenlistment with follow up questions, a survey using the Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale-2016 (ATLG-2016), the Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men in the Military Scale-2016 (ATGML-2016), and Sell Assessment of Sexual Orientation. The data was used to assess the attitudes of civilians and service members and the role of leadership. A 3 x 2 Chi-Square Analysis was conducted with variables representing one of three vignettes received and a yes/no for each question asked following the vignette. Standardized residuals were computed to identify significant cells. A 2 X 2 MANOVA was run using age and status as the independent variable comparing it to the dependent variables ATLG-2016, ATLGM-2016. While there have been studies that explore the changes and acceptance of gay men and lesbians within the military, few have looked at the influence of the attitudes of leadership (platoon leaders and senior officers) towards gay men and lesbians. Another aspect investigated is the role held within the armed services.

Advisor

Raymond Green

Subject Categories

Education | Educational Psychology

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS