Predictors of Prejudice Against Lesbians and Gay Men in Jamaica

Abstract

Jamaica has acquired an international reputation for strong antigay prejudice, incidents of antigay violence, and outspoken, antigay public figures. In recent years, national and international gay rights groups have attempted to improve this situation. However, these efforts have not been based on an empirical analysis of the factors underlying Jamaican antigay bias, which is essential for developing effective prejudice-reducing strategies. Using data collected in two large-scale national surveys in 2011 and 2012 (N ₂₀₁₁ = 997, N ₂₀₁₂ = 945), we investigated predictors of Jamaican antigay prejudice, including age, gender, religious affiliation, education, income, and a preference for dancehall music. We also examined changes in reported antigay bias between 2011 and 2012 after accounting for other predictors. All proposed variables predicted some aspect of antigay prejudice, though sometimes in unexpected ways. Male gender emerged as a particularly important predictor. We discuss the strengths and limitations of our design and the implications of our findings for prejudice-reduction strategies in Jamaica.

Notes

¹Our own data support these assertions. Among our participants, men were more likely than women to state that dancehall was their favorite kind of music, χ² (1) = 34.66, p < .001, and both age (r = −.20, p < .001) and income (r = −.06, p = .03) were negatively correlated with a preference for dancehall.

²On April 1, 2013, US$1 was worth approximately $99.17 Jamaican, and GBP£1 was worth approximately $152.15 Jamaican.

³Because these were the only three gender-specific questions, we used these three questions as our measure of antigay prejudice, despite acknowledging that each of the three questions measured a different component of antigay prejudice. Analyses using each of the items individually yielded very similar results.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Note. Standardized coefficients shown.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.