Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Trans Persons
KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD TRANS PERSONS HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY By Rachel E. Kooy A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts In Counseling Psychology December, 2010 KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD TRANS PERSONS HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY By Rachel E. Kooy Approved by the Master’s Thesis Committee: Emily Sommerman, Psy.D., Major Professor Date Christopher Aberson, Ph.D., Committee Member Date Gregg Gold, Ph.D., Committee Member Date Emily Sommerman, Psy.D., Graduate Coordinator Date Jená Burges, Dean for Research and Graduate Studies Date ABSTRACT Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Trans Persons Rachel Kooy Beginning in the late 1980s, after Transsexualism was added to the DSM-III, research on issues relating to trans persons (a term that encompasses people who identify as transgendered, transsexual, or as any other significant form of deviation from gender norms) is still relatively new. However, over the past few decades researchers have found that trans persons are at a higher risk for abuse and alienation from the public, including physical and verbal victimization, as well as sexual assault (Clements-Nolle, Marx, & Katz, 2006; Lombardi, 2001; Denny, Green, & Cole, 2007). The current study aimed to measure attitudes towards trans persons and discover possible safeguards against transphobia and discrimination. Using 126 Humboldt State University students, the current study examined attitudes toward trans persons using the Transphobia Scale and Attitudes Toward Transsexualism National Survey. (Landén & Innala, 2000; Nagoshi, Adams, Terrell, Hill, Brzuzy, & Nagoshi, 2008). Unlike previous research using the Transphobia Scale, participants in the study were significantly less transphobic, and men and women did not differ in their levels of transphobia.
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