Causal Attributions and Parents' Acceptance of Their Homosexual Sons.

This Internet-based study examined the association between Israeli parents' attributions regarding the cause of their son's homosexuality and their level of acceptance of their homosexual son. The sample (N = 57) was recruited via Internet Web sites (gay forums and support groups). Findings suggest that more essentialist (versus constructivist) causal attributions were associated with higher levels of parental acceptance. Length of time parents knew of their son's homosexual orientation predicted the degree to which their attributions were essentialist. Implications are discussed.