[01] Cathryn Ishwarya Francis, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Zakiyah Binti Nazir, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Siow Jia Cheng, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Deric Benjamin Lee, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)), Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Arulmathi Muthelilan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)), Melaka, Malaysia.

Background: Homosexuality has been accepted in many countries such as America, Australia and Germany, however it is still illegal in Malaysia. This study explores the relationship between age, academic year, gender, ethnic, religion, level of piousness and empathy affecting tolerance towards homosexuality among medical students. Method: There were 201 clinical phase students from a private medical college in Malaysia which were recruited into this study. Homosexual Attitude Scale was used to record the tolerance towards homosexuality, Duke University Religion Index to measure piousness and Toronto Empathy Scale to measure the empathy of an individual. Results: The result showed that males have higher tolerance towards homosexuality among medical students compared to females. Based on ethnicity, Indians have the highest tolerance towards homosexuality followed by Chinese and Malay. Based on religion, Hinduism had the highest tolerance towards homosexuality followed by Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. As for piousness, the higher the level of intrinsic religiosity the lower the tolerance towards homosexuality. On the other hand for empathy, the higher the level of empathy the higher the tolerance towards homosexuality. Conclusion: In conclusion, clinical practitioners are more empathetic towards homosexuals. Increased piousness and intrinsic religiosity in a clinical practitioner will have a more negative attitude towards homosexuals.

Homosexuality, Empathy, Students, Survey

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