Do attitude functions and perceiver demographics predict attitudes towards asexuality?

ABSTRACT Research indicates asexual individuals experience stigma. Addressing this phenomenon, this study examined attitude functions – experiential, social-expressive, ego-defensive, and value-expressive – in the prediction of attitudes towards asexuality. As well, demographic variables – participant gender, religiosity, and sexual orientation – were examined vis-à-vis asexuality attitudes. Herek’s Function of Attitudes Inventory assessed asexual attitude functions. General attitudes were assessed using the Attitude towards Asexuality scale, feeling thermometers, and semantic differential scales. Participants were asked to imagine developing a relationship with an asexual person; attitudes towards the asexual target were assessed by belief statements specific to the person, a feeling thermometer, and target-specific semantic differential items. On average, all asexuality attitudes measures were rated favourably. Men, religious individuals, and exclusively heterosexual participants were generally less positive in their asexual attitudes. While statistically significant, these demographic differences were quite weak. Participants generally denied the attitude functions as the basis for their asexuality attitudes. The ego-defensive attitude function was strongly predictive of all asexual attitudes measures. The value-expressive function was a significant but small multiple regression predictor of some asexual attitudes. Understanding attitudes towards asexuality would be advanced by further consideration of how the attitude serves the social perceiver.