Using Movies to Change Homophobic Attitudes of Social Work Students: Turkish Example

This article examines homophobic attitude changes among undergraduate social work students in two major universities located in Ankara, Turkey. The research was conducted in Ankara for 10 weeks with 54 volunteer students from Ankara University and Hacettepe University. During one term, nine movies were screened, a get-acquainted meeting was held, three information booklets were distributed, and the Homosexuality Attitudes Scale (HAS) was given at the beginning and end of the term. The mean HAS score at the pretest was 166.28 (SD = 35.33), and the mean posttest score was 146.93 (SD = 41.09). A paired samples t-test found this reduction to be statistically significant at p < .05 level, with a Cohen’s d effect size of .52, r = .25. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that viewing gay-friend mainstream movies can contribute to a reduction in prejudice again homosexuals. Viewing such movies may be an important component of social work education aimed at enhancing favorable views toward diverse sexual orientations and promoting social workers’ ability to effectively engage with gays and lesbians in practice