Comparative Analysis of Adolescent Attitudes Towards LGBTQ+ in Urban and Rural Schools in Thimphu

Abstract

The objective of the research is to examine the attitude difference between urban and rural school adolescents towards lesbian and gay individuals in Thimphu. There were 240 participants in the study, with 120 from urban schools and 120 from rural schools. The study adopted a stratified random sampling method. To gather data, structured self-administered survey questionnaires in hardcopy have been distributed to all identified respondents. The instrument used a five-point Likert scale to assess the attitude of students towards lesbians and gays. The findings revealed a significant difference in attitude between urban and rural adolescents towards lesbian and gay individuals, with urban participants demonstrating a higher level of acceptance compared to their rural counterparts. The findings show a statistically significant difference in attitudes, with urban respondents scoring slightly higher (M = 3.86, SD = 0.18) than rural respondents (M = 3.78, SD = 0.17), t(238) = 3.496, p = 0.01, CI [0.04, 0.13]. The effect size was modest (d = 0.45), indicating a slightly more positive attitude among urban students. This highlights geographical disparity in attitudes toward lesbian and gay individuals among adolescents.