Jill Chonody, an associate professor in the School of Social Work, explored the social stigma in Australia surrounding same-sex family rights in her publication, “Attitudes toward same-sex family rights: Education facilitating progressive attitude change,” published in the Australian Journal of Psychology.
Previous research shows that social stigmas have harmful impacts on same-sex families and that some people believe that children who grow up in same-sex parent families are impacted with negative development. Chonody and co-authors Stephanie M. Webb from the University of South Australia and Phillip Kavanagh from the University of Canberra, investigated the relationship between same-sex parenting attitudes and how those attitudes are impacted with educational intervention.
Chonody’s study had 629 participants from Australia who responded to an online survey about same-sex parenting and marriage. The study revealed that educating people about misconceptions regarding same-sex parenting reduced negative attitudes.
Ultimately, Chonody’s study supports the idea that stepping in to educate the public on same-sex parenting may, in turn, lessen the resistance against same-sex marriage.
– By Sidney Stull