Research article
Human values, legal regulation, and approval of homosexuality in Europe: A cross-country comparison
Anabel Kuntz,
Eldad Davidov,
Shalom H. Schwartz,
Peter Schmidt,
Corresponding Author
Anabel Kuntz
University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Correspondence to: Anabel Kuntz, Research Training Group SOCLIFE, University of Cologne, Richard-Strauß-Straße 2, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorEldad Davidov
University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
The second and the third authors are listed in alphabetical order and contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorShalom H. Schwartz
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
National Research University—Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
The second and the third authors are listed in alphabetical order and contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorPeter Schmidt
National Research University—Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorAnabel Kuntz,
Eldad Davidov,
Shalom H. Schwartz,
Peter Schmidt,
Corresponding Author
Anabel Kuntz
University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Correspondence to: Anabel Kuntz, Research Training Group SOCLIFE, University of Cologne, Richard-Strauß-Straße 2, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorEldad Davidov
University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
The second and the third authors are listed in alphabetical order and contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorShalom H. Schwartz
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
National Research University—Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
The second and the third authors are listed in alphabetical order and contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorPeter Schmidt
National Research University—Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Although research has revealed a trend toward liberalization of attitudes toward homosexuality in Western countries, acceptance of homosexuality differs remarkably among individuals and across countries. We examine the roles of individual value priorities and of national laws regarding homosexuality and the interaction between them in explaining approval of homosexuality. Data are drawn from the European Social Survey and include representative national samples of 27 European countries in 2010. As hypothesized, individuals who prioritized openness to change and universalism values approved of homosexuality more, whereas those who prioritized conservation and power values exhibited more disapproval. Approval was greater in countries whose laws regarding homosexuality were more progressive. In addition, legal regulation of homosexuality moderated the associations of individual value priorities. In countries with more progressive laws, both the positive effect of openness to change values and the negative effect of conservation values on approval of homosexuality were weaker. However, the positive effect of universalism values and the negative effect of power values did not vary as a function of national laws regarding homosexuality. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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