Knowledge of Homosexuality and Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parenting Among Israeli Nurses in Mother-Child Health Clinics
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sample
2.2. Measures
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Validation of the Attitudes Toward LG Parenting Questionnaire
3.2. Levels of Knowledge About Homosexuality and Attitudes About LG
3.3. Associations of Socio-Demographic, Professional, and LG-Related Characteristics with Knowledge About Homosexuality and Attitudes About LG
3.4. Association Between Knowledge About Homosexuality and Attitudes About LG Parenting
4. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
MCHC | Mother-Child Health Clinic |
LG | Lesbian and Gay |
LGBTQ+ | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Queer, Other |
Appendix A
Item | Negative Beliefs About LG Parenting | Perception of Benefits of LG Parenting |
---|---|---|
It is not natural for gay men and lesbians to have children | 0.88 | |
Gay men and lesbians should not have children because it is a sin | 0.87 | |
Children of gay and lesbian parents do not have the needed masculine and feminine references for their normal development | 0.82 | |
Gay and lesbian parents do not care about their children’s best interests | 0.81 | |
Children of gay and lesbian parents will be homosexual or will be confused about their sexuality | 0.65 | |
Children of gay and lesbian parents are more victimized in school | 0.61 | |
Children of gay and lesbian parents are more accepting of other people’s differences | 0.80 | |
Children of gay and lesbian parents are more tolerant | 0.78 | |
The difficulties that gay and lesbian parents face prepare them to be good parents | 0.60 | |
There are gay and lesbian people with a high desire to have children and to be available for them | −0.42 | 0.55 |
The main difficulties of gay and lesbian parents are due to societal prejudice | 0.51 | |
Eigenvalue | 3.94 | 2.38 |
% of variance explained | 35.8% | 21.6% |
Cronbach’s α | 0.88 | 0.72 |
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Socio-Demographic | Range | M | SD |
---|---|---|---|
Age | 27–68 | 47.91 | 10.35 |
N | % | ||
Religion | |||
Jewish | 45 | 69.2% | |
Muslim | 10 | 15.4% | |
Christian | 4 | 6.2% | |
Other | 6 | 9.2% | |
Religiosity | |||
Secular | 23 | 35.4% | |
Traditional | 30 | 46.2% | |
Religious | 9 | 13.8% | |
Orthodox religious | 1 | 1.5% | |
Other | 1 | 1.5% | |
Place of residence | |||
City | 45 | 69.2% | |
Other | 20 | 30.8% | |
Professional | Range | M | SD |
Experience in nursing (years) | 1–36 | 20.6 | 11.2 |
N | % | ||
Education | |||
Practical nurse | 4 | 6.2% | |
Academic nurse with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree | 19 | 29.2% | |
Academic nurse with a bachelor’s degree | 27 | 41.5% | |
Academic nurse with a master’s degree | 12 | 18.5% | |
Advanced practice course | |||
No | 28 | 43.1% | |
Yes | 37 | 56.9% | |
District of MCHC | |||
Ashkelon | 40 | 61.5% | |
North | 25 | 38.5% | |
LG-related | N | % | |
Personal acquaintance with LG individuals | |||
No | 36 | 55.4% | |
Yes | 29 | 44.6% | |
Sources of familiarity with LG individuals | |||
Family member | 9 | 13.8% | |
Friend | 15 | 23.1% | |
Colleague | 1 | 1.5% | |
Patient | 3 | 4.6% |
Variable | M | SD | Range |
---|---|---|---|
Knowledge about homosexuality | 13.00 | 2.52 | 7–19 |
Negative beliefs about LG parenting | 1.99 | 0.89 | 1.00–4.50 |
Perception of benefits of LG parenting | 3.26 | 0.76 | 1.60–5.00 |
Knowledge About Homosexuality | Negative Beliefs About LG Parenting | Perception of Benefits of LG Parenting | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | SD | t/r | M | SD | t/r | M | SD | t/r | |
Socio-demographic | |||||||||
Age | - | - | r(31) = −0.38, p = 0.006 | - | - | r(31) = 0.10, p = 0.588 | - | - | r(30) = −0.06, p = 0.711 |
Religion | t(63) = 2.94, p = 0.005, d = 0.79 | t(23.29) = −5.13, p < 0.001, d = −1.76 | t(62) = 0.96, p = 0.341, d = 0.26 | ||||||
Jewish | 13.58 | 2.33 | 1.61 | 0.50 | 3.32 | 0.76 | |||
Muslim/Christian/Other | 11.70 | 2.49 | 2.83 | 1.01 | 3.12 | 0.77 | |||
Religiosity | t(62) = 2.04, p = 0.045, d = 0.53 | t(60.55) = −2.39, p = 0.020, d = −0.52 | t(61) = 1.42, p = 0.162, d = 0.37 | ||||||
Secular | 13.74 | 2.68 | 1.70 | 0.51 | 3.42 | 0.70 | |||
Other | 12.46 | 2.23 | 2.16 | 1.02 | 3.14 | 0.78 | |||
Professional | |||||||||
Experience in nursing (years) | - | - | r(63) = −0.17, p = 0.164 | - | - | r(63) = 0.10, p = 0.435 | - | - | r(62) = −0.04, p = 0.771 |
Education | t(60) = 0.30, p = 0.769, d = 0.08 | t(60) = −0.65, p = 0.520, d = −0.17 | t(59) = 0.45, p = 0.656, d = 0.12 | ||||||
Practical nurse/academic nurse with non-nursing degree | 13.17 | 2.99 | 1.89 | 0.84 | 3.35 | 0.71 | |||
Academic nurse with bachelor or master’s degree | 12.97 | 2.29 | 2.04 | 0.95 | 3.26 | 0.78 | |||
Advanced practice course | t(63) = 0.40, p = 0.694, d = 0.10 | t(63) = −1.23, p = 0.225, d = −0.31 | t(62) = −0.18, p = 0.857, d = −0.05 | ||||||
No | 13.14 | 2.45 | 1.83 | 0.79 | 3.24 | 0.74 | |||
Yes | 12.89 | 2.60 | 2.11 | 0.96 | 3.27 | 0.79 | |||
LG people related | |||||||||
Personal acquaintance with LG individual | t(63) = −1.60, p = 0.114, d = −0.40 | t(49.33) = 4.47, p < 0.001, d = 1.03 | t(62) = −1.40, p = 0.167, d = −0.35 | ||||||
No | 12.56 | 2.38 | 2.36 | 1.00 | 3.14 | 0.76 | |||
Yes | 13.55 | 2.61 | 1.53 | 0.42 | 3.41 | 0.75 |
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Gur, E.; Wacht, O.; Segal-Engelchin, D.; Grinstein-Cohen, O. Knowledge of Homosexuality and Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parenting Among Israeli Nurses in Mother-Child Health Clinics. Societies 2025, 15, 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070189
Gur E, Wacht O, Segal-Engelchin D, Grinstein-Cohen O. Knowledge of Homosexuality and Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parenting Among Israeli Nurses in Mother-Child Health Clinics. Societies. 2025; 15(7):189. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070189
Chicago/Turabian StyleGur, Eitan, Oren Wacht, Dorit Segal-Engelchin, and Orli Grinstein-Cohen. 2025. "Knowledge of Homosexuality and Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parenting Among Israeli Nurses in Mother-Child Health Clinics" Societies 15, no. 7: 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070189
APA StyleGur, E., Wacht, O., Segal-Engelchin, D., & Grinstein-Cohen, O. (2025). Knowledge of Homosexuality and Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parenting Among Israeli Nurses in Mother-Child Health Clinics. Societies, 15(7), 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15070189