Attitudinal Change Toward Same-Sex Parents: the Effect of the Explanation of the Etiology of the Homosexual Sexual Orientation Dolores Frias-Navarro 1 & Livia García 2 & Gloria Garcia-Banda 3 & Marcos Pascual-Soler 4 & Laura Badenes-Ribera 1 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2017 Abstract The attributional theory of stigma maintains that the rejection of the stigmatized group increases when attributions are made to controllable causes rather than to genetic factors. Our study has two objectives: one, to provide evidence for the bifactorial structure of the scale of Beliefs about Children’ s Adjustment in Same-Sex Families Scale (BCASSFS); and two, to carry out a direct replication of a previous experimental study about the effect of the etiology of the homosexual sexual orientation on attitudes toward same-sex parents. The sample was composed of 229 Spanish university students with a mean age of 26.18 years (SD = 9.43). This study demonstrates that the rejection of same-sex parents is greater when the homosexual sexual orientation is attributed to learning. The effect is observed in the scores on the two subscales: traditional rejection or individual opposition and modern rejection or normative opposition. The practical implications of our findings are related to homophobia intervention programs in educational settings or in the promotion of social change. Keywords Sexual orientation beliefs . Essentialist beliefs . Same-sex parenting . Homosexuality Beliefs about genetic or behavioral origins of the main differ- ences between individuals or social groups affect the attitudes toward these individuals or groups (Boysen & Vogel, 2007; Costa, Carneiro, Esposito, D’Amore, & Green, 2017). The idea that the genes are the reason for these differences implies perceiving that the differences are inherent, stable or non-re- versible, universal, and beyond the subject ’s control. Therefore, the differences are legitimized as natural (essential- ism model), and the naturalistic fallacy is promoted, where genetic attributions lead to the differences being perceived as more morally acceptable (Dar-Nimrod & Heine, 2011; Haslam, Rothschild, & Ernst, 2002). However, when the dif- ferences are attributed to learning, personal choice, or the re- sult of an interaction between modifiable individual and envi- ronmental factors, then the decision is viewed as controllable and susceptible to change. Therefore, the individual is thought to be responsible for the consequences stemming from this choice (constructivist model). Social scientists have analyzed the relationship between prejudice toward stigmatized groups and attributional beliefs about the origin and controllability of traits and behaviors. The attributional theory of stigma (Weiner, Perry, & Magnusson, 1988) argues that the rejection of the stigmatized group in- creases when attributions are made Weinerto controllable causes, as the responsibility for their fate is attributed to the individual, whether due to individual weaknesses or to per- sonal choices. However, the attitudes are more favorable when the causes for the stigmatized behaviors are attributed to non- controllable factors without any personal responsibility, as in the case of the genetic predisposition of the individual (Dijker & Kooman, 2003; Hegarty & Golden, 2008; Madon, Smith, & Guyll, 2005, 1995). In addition, emotions such as anger and * Dolores Frias-Navarro M.Dolores.Frias@uv.es Livia García livgarci@ull.es Gloria Garcia-Banda ggbanda@uib.es Marcos Pascual-Soler marcos.pascual@esic.edu Laura Badenes-Ribera Laura.Badenes@uv.es 1 Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain 2 Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain 3 Universitat de les Illes Balears, Illes Balears, Spain 4 ESIC Business & Marketing School, Barcelona, Spain Sexuality Research and Social Policy https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0313-x