The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2 - 28

Michael L. Fanucce • Deborah J. Taub

the perceptions of LGBT students about their residence hall experiences. The research question for this study is as follows: What is the relationship between students’—both LGBT and non-LGBT—perceived levels of homonegativity and their perceptions of the climate and community in campus residence halls? Given the findings of past studies, the hypothesis of this study was that LGBT students would perceive their living environment as hostile (that is, they would perceive higher levels of homonegativity than would their heterosexual peers) and that this would in turn relate to a perception of poor community development and climate in residence halls among the LGBT population. Further, it was hypothesized that the same relationship would not be found for non-LGBT students. Finally, it was hypothesized that non-LGBT students who identified themselves as allies would respond similarly to LGBT students.

METHODS
Participants
The participants for this study were currently enrolled students (n = 284) at a large, public, Midwestern, Research I university. Overall, 118 of the respondents (41.5%) were male, 142 (50%) were female, 1 was a transgender student (0.4%), and 23 (8.1%) did not disclose gender. The sexual orientation of the sample included 237 (83.5%) heterosexual students, 28 (9.8%) gay/lesbian students, 10 (3.5%) bisexual students, and 9 (3.2%) uncertain students. Of the 237 heterosexual students, 105 (44.3%) identified as allies of LGBT students, while 90 (38%) identified as non-allies, leaving 42 (17.7%) non-reporting heterosexual students. Ages ranged from 18 to 41+ with 92% of the population aged 23 or younger (n = 261). During the data collection stage of this study, nearly all the respondents then lived in or had formerly lived in a residence hall (n = 284), with 46.8% (n = 133) then residing in a residence hall and 52.1% (n = 148) having lived in a residence hall previously (while 3 respondents did not disclose status). Additional demographic data can be found in Table 1.

There is substantial literature documenting that LGBT students frequently find the college or university campus unwelcoming or even hostile, but there is little about the specific environment of residence halls . . . .it is important to understand the perceptions of LGBT students about their residence hall experiences .

Instrumentation
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Residence Hall Climate Inventory (LGBTRHCI). The perceived level of homonegativity was measured using an adaptation of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Residence Hall Climate Inventory (Liddle, Luzzo, Hauenstein, & Schuck, 2004). The original scale measured the degree to which an individual’s workplace climate is affirming of or stigmatizing for LGBT workers. The scale was designed to be administrable to people of any sexual orienta-

28

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITy STUDENT HOUSING
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2
