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If vodka doesn't kill the Russians, anti-gay bias might

Findings of a recent study suggest that anti-gay prejudice might harm those who harbor it—not just its targets.

  1. "If some people in your community suggested that a book in favor of homosexuality should be taken out of your public library, would you favor removing this book, or not?"

  2. "Should a man who admits that he is a homosexual be allowed to teach in a college or university, or not?"

  3. "Suppose a man who admits that he is a homosexual wanted to make a speech in your community. Should he be allowed to speak, or not?"

  4. "Do you think that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex is always wrong, almost always wrong, wrong only sometimes, or not wrong at all?"

People with high levels of homosexual prejudice were 25% more likely to have died than people with low levels—translating into a difference in life expectancy of 2.5 years. In secondary analysis, the researchers also controlled for racial prejudice and religiosity (as measured by other questions asked on the General Social Survey); there was no significant change in the findings.

So how could anti-gay attitudes be a hazard to the health of those who hold them? We don't really know. But the repeated activation of bodily stress response systems offers a possible explanation.

The findings published in the American Journal of Public Health support the anger theory: people with high levels of anti-gay prejudice were found to be more likely to die from cardiovascular causes (e.g., heart attacks) than people with low levels, but there was no difference with cancer.

Read more about The Public's Health.