Freud on Homosexuality and the Super-Ego: Some Cross-Cultural Tests1

Abstract

Cross-cultural data that have recently become available make it possible to test several hypotheses derivable from Freud's theories relating to male homosexuality and the development of the super-ego. These hypotheses are (1) relatively little father-son contact during early childhood increases the probability of homosexuality; (2) under a condition of relatively high father contact, increased sexual attachment to the mother decreases the probability of homosexuality; (3) relatively little father-son contact during early child hood impedes the development of the son's super-ego; and (4) there should be a negative zero-order correlation between homosexuality and the super- ego development. This correlation should vanish once degree of father con tact is controlled. The data from fifty-one societies indicate that hypotheses (1), (2) and (3) are strongly supported, and hypothesis (4) is moderately supported. Whiting's "status envy" theory is also relevant to the same data, but is not as consistent with this data as is Freud's theory.

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