Moving towards Equitable Society: Attitudes of Female Emerging Adults towards LGBTQIA + Community in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The younger people are expressing diverse views and attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ community in most
countries and Nigeria is also becoming more receptive to people that are seen as being different. The present
study examined the attitude of female emerging adults towards the homosexual community in Lagos State,
Nigeria with the aim of investigating the attitude of female emerging adults towards the homosexual
community based on the demographic variables, as well as examine the extent in which religiosity predicts the
attitude of female emerging adults towards homosexual community. Cross sectional survey design was used
in this study using convenient sampling method, a sample of 394 female emerging adults participated in the
study. Two standardised psychological instruments, namely: Attitude towards Homosexuality scale (ATHS)
English-version and Religious Affiliation Scale (RAS) were used. Findings revealed a significant positive
relationship between religiosity and attitude of female emerging adults towards homosexual community.
Furthermore, results indicated that religiosity is a significant predictor of attitude of female emerging adults’
attitudes towards homosexual community and finally, participants with high levels of religiosity reported
more positive attitude towards the Homosexual community. In conclusion, the study revealed that religiosity
plays a significant role in shaping the attitude of female emerging adults towards homosexual community,
highlighting the need for further exploration of this relationship, additional factors that may be a contributor
to shaping our attitude within the African context.