The State of the Social Work Profession: A Systematic Review of the Literature on Antigay Bias

Abstract

Antigay bias delimits the rights of sexual minorities. Given that the social work profession promotes social justice values, understanding the extent to which antigay bias exists within the profession is important. Two social work specific populations were included in this systematic literature review to capture the breadth of the profession: professionals and students. A total of 31 empirical articles met our inclusion criteria. Across the samples, social workers and students were found to have mostly positive attitudes toward gays and lesbians. The sociodemographic factors used to explain the variance in attitudes are reported, and suggestions for future research are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• heterosexism
• homophobia
• theory
• quantitative methods