Aggression, empathy and sexual orientation in males

Homosexual males are reported to be less physically aggressive than heterosexual males (Ellis et al., 1990 and Gladue and Bailey, 1995). Previous aggression studies have not, however, compared all forms of direct aggression, indirect aggression and empathy among these populations. Empathy is a significant factor to consider since it both mitigates the expression of aggression (Kaukiainen et al., 1998) and differs between heterosexual and homosexual males (Salais & Fischer, 1995). This study therefore evaluated levels of direct and indirect aggression and empathy among homosexual (n = 91) and heterosexual (n = 91) males. Data was collected from an Internet-based sample of the two groups using self-report psychometric measures in order to reduce social desirability effects. Homosexual males reported significantly lower levels of physical aggression and higher levels of empathy but report similar levels of indirect aggression, and other forms of direct aggression, to heterosexual males.