Attitudes Toward Homosexuality in a Male and Female Prison: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

It has been argued that differences exist between male and female inmates' attitudes toward homosexuality. Unfortunately, this statement has never been fully addressed in correctional literature. To test this hypothesis, anonymous surveys were administered to 256 male and female inmates in Mississippi. The study revealed that not only gender but also race, homosexual behavior during incarceration, and remaining sentence time had statistically significant effects on inmates' attitudes toward homosexuality. In other words, incarcerated men were more likely than incarcerated women to have homophobic attitudes. Black inmates were more tolerant of homosexuality compared to White inmates. Inmates who had engaged in homosexual behavior during incarceration were less likely to have homophobic attitudes than those who had not. Finally, those who had longer remaining sentence times were more likely to have negative attitudes toward homosexuality compared to those with shorter remaining sentence times.