Re: Spizter study on Ex-Gays

[Marie Helweg-Larsen]

It would be a terrific exercise for students. Give them the 3 web sites and then have them compare these interpretations to the published study. I find it interesting that the comments by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (see excerpt below) attack two things: the author and the low external validity. If those are the worst criticisms they could come up with it must be an alright study! The other criticisms (from religious tolerance site) are much more methodologically sophisticated (e.g., how did the author define being gay, were bisexual individuals appropriately identified, etc.) Marie May 2001 - Tim McFeeley, Political Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, issued the following statement in response to a study scheduled for release at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New Orleans. The study suggests that in some cases, "highly motivated gay people" can change their sexual orientation. "The so-called 'study' conducted by Robert Spitzer is snake oil packaged as science. Of the 200 people interviewed by Spitzer, 43 percent were referred to him by ex-gay ministries. Another 23 percent were referred to him by the anti-gay National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). To say the very least, the data is tainted and biased. "Indeed, a look at Spitzer's own comments reveal his bias on the topic. Spitzer opposes same-sex marriage, opposes the right of gay and lesbian people to adopt children, opposes the right of gay and lesbian people to serve in the military and believes that homosexuality 'is not a normal condition.' Dennis Goff wrote: It is hard to believe that NARTH and Religious Tolerance are reporting on the same research. A comparison of those two reports and a reading of the original research report could provide a good exercise in critical thinking and rhetoric for our students. I can't comment on Spitzer's methodology because I have not seen the original work. The representations of that methodology are quite different in the two web pages. Which page do you think provides the more accurate representation? Dennis -----Original Message----- From: James Guinee [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 9:33 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: Spizter study on Ex-Gays Hello On the heels of the bible verses/pro anti gay post, this is certainly a little more relevant to the teaching of psychology. Many of you probably know of Dr. Robert Spitzer, psychiatry professor at Columbia University. The field is indebted to him for being instrumental in removing homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses in the DSM. For the past thirty years, he has continued to study sexual orientation, and now seems to be somewhat supportive of the claim that *some* gays and lesbians can and do change their sexual orientation. This isn't my area of expertise, so I tend to read and keep my mouth shut. But it's still interesting. The question is -- is Spitzer doing/backing methologically sound research? Is this even a topic that we can still discuss without offending/upsetting people/our students? Here is a summary from NARTH (which of course has its own agenda): http://www.narth.com/docs/evidencefound.html And of course other agendas chime in: http://fly.hiwaay.net/~garson/gay0501.htm http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_spit.htm Have a nice day :) Jim G ************************************************************************ Jim Guinee, Ph.D. Director of Training & Adjunct Professor University of Central Arkansas Counseling Center 313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035 USA "Too many of us have a Christian vocabulary rather than a Christian experience. We think we are doing our duty when we're only talking about it." ... Charles F. Banning E-mail is not a secure means to transmit confidential information. The UCA Counseling Center staff does not use e-mail to discuss personal issues. The staff does not maintain 24-hour access to their e-mail accounts. ************************************************************************** --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ********************************************* Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology Dickinson College, P.O. Box 1773 Carlisle, PA 17013 Office: (717) 245-1562, Fax: (717) 245-1971 ********************************************* --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]