Influence of a freshman-year panel presentation on medical students' attitudes toward homosexuality.

PURPOSE

To explore medical students' changes in group attitude toward homosexuality following mid-year exposure as freshmen to a panel presentation on the topic and, later, following clinical experiences.

METHOD

At the beginning, middle, and end of 1991-92 and during the psychiatry clerkship in 1993-94, all 186 students in the class of 1995 at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans were asked to complete anonymously the Index of Attitudes toward Homosexuals. The two subsequent entering classes were also surveyed, at the beginning and in the middle of their freshman year.

RESULTS

Group attitudes among the three consecutive classes were remarkably consistent. The original cohort displayed a decrease in group homophobic attitude over time, with the reduced mean score at mid-year continuing its downward trend at year's end, though rebounding somewhat by the junior year. However, the group mean score remained in the low-grade homophobic category throughout the three-year study.

CONCLUSION

That the mean scores of the three classes remained at the low-grade homophobic level suggests the desirability of establishing an ongoing forum to enable students to examine all deeply held beliefs that may affect patient care.