Political participation predictors of homosexuals in the gay/lesbian rights movement

An examination of the gay/lesbian rights movement demonstrates that many of McAdam\u27s concepts from the political process model are applicable. Concepts such as social control, organization/community strength, collective attributions all help to explain the degree of political participation. Variables unique to this analysis include the use of identity, media exposure, and perceptions specific to gays and lesbians. These include perceptions of government responsiveness to AIDS and having a say in government. Data collection resulted in 306 respondents completing questionnaires regarding their political activity, perceptions, and other predictor variables. Data analysis reveals that the model proposed fits the data well explaining between 47% and 53% of the variance for the three sample types. Future analysis should expand work in this area by using alternative methods and assessing the importance of informal networks