Grappling with the issue of homosexuality: perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs among high school students in Kenya

Figures & data

Table 1 Understanding, beliefs, and attitudes about homosexuality

Understanding of homosexuality	Yes (%)	No (%)
Awareness of homosexuality
Practiced	41	59
Type of school
All types	33
Boys boarding	43
Girls boarding	20
Coed day	1
None of the schools	3
Cause of homosexuality
Biological/genetics	2
Socialization	3
Sexual starvation	51
Demons/Satan	6
Western culture influence	35
Other	3
Belief about homosexuality
A normal sexual behavior	5
An abnormal sexual behavior	95

Table 2 Sexual orientation and change

Change and consequences	Yes (%)	No (%)
Change of sexual orientation
After graduation	40	60
With counseling	86	14
With prayer	64	36
Consequences
Punishment	66	34
Suspension	61	39
Expulsion	48	52
Awareness of homosexual practice
Teachers	32	68
Parents/guardians	8	92

Table 3 Beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality by gender

Beliefs and attitudes	Females		Males
	Yes (%)	No (%)	Yes (%)	No (%)
Awareness of homosexuality
Practiced	43	57	34	66
Consequences (expulsion)	46	54	52	48
Type of school
All types	44		22
Boys boarding	25		55
Girls boarding	26		15
Coed day	1		1
None of the schools	3		5
Cause of homosexuality
Biological/genetics	1		2
Socialization	3		3
Sexual starvation	43		61
Demons/Satan	5		7
Western culture influence	43		30
Other	5		2

Table 4 Beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality between gender

Beliefs and attitudes	χ^2	df	P
Practice of homosexuality	9.14	1	0.003
Cause of homosexuality	55.72	5	0.000
Type of school	147.02	7	0.000
Consequences (expulsion)	4.12	1	0.042

Note: Females, n=664; males, n=586.

Abbreviation: df, degrees of freedom.

Table 5 Beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality by grade level

Beliefs and attitudes	9th	10th	11th	12th
	Yes (no), %	Yes (no), %	Yes (no), %	Yes (no), %
Awareness of homosexuality
Practiced	23 (77)	40 (60)	41 (59)	27 (73)
Teachers	11 (89)	36 (64)	34 (66)	17 (83)
Parents	0 (100)	11 (89)	9 (91)	2 (98)
Type of school
All types	11	28	35	40
Boys boarding	54	51	39	34
Girls boarding	19	16	22	20
Coed day	0	2	0.3	1
None of the schools	16	3	4	5
Cause of homosexuality
Biological/genetics	8	2	1	1
Socialization	4	2	4	2
Sexual starvation	58	69	49	27
Demons/Satan	19	7	6	2
Western influence	8	8	36	64
Other	4	2	4	3

Note: Data in bold indicates a significant difference between grade levels.

Table 6 Beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality across grade levels

Beliefs and attitudes	χ^2	df	P
Practice of homosexuality	14.52	3	0.002
Cause of homosexuality	142.68	15	0.000
Type of school	47.25	21	0.001
Awareness (teachers)	26.51	3	0.000
Awareness (parents/guardians)	17.24	3	0.001

Note: ninth, n=26; tenth, n=327; eleventh, n=721; 12th, n=176.

Abbreviation: df, degrees of freedom.

Table 7 Beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality by school

Beliefs and attitudes	Boys boarding	Girls boarding	Coed day
	Yes (no), %	Yes (no), %	Yes (no), %
Awareness of homosexuality
Practiced	37 (63)	43 (57)	35 (65)
Consequences (expulsion)	55 (45)	49 (51)	42 (58)
Awareness (teachers)	39 (61)	32 (68)	25 (75)
Awareness (guardians)	11 (89)	4 (96)	10 (90)
Type of school
All types	24	46	27
Boys boarding	55	23	47
Girls boarding	13	28	18
Coed day	1	0.2	1
None of the schools	6	3	3
Cause of homosexuality
Biological/genetics	2	1	2
Socialization	3	3	4
Sexual starvation	63	39	56
Demons/Satan	6	4	8
Western influence	25	49	28
Other	2	6	2

Table 8 Beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality across schools

Beliefs and attitudes	χ^2	df	P
Practice of homosexuality	6.14	2	0.046
Cause of homosexuality	90.79	10	0.000
Type of school	150.21	14	0.000
Change of sexual orientation	26.62	2	0.000
Consequences (expulsion)	12.62	2	0.002
Awareness (teachers)	17.16	2	0.000
Awareness (parents/guardians)	15.80	2	0.000

Note: Females, n=664; males, n=586.

Abbreviation: df, degrees of freedom.