The men followed 61 subjects over a span of six to seven years, recording their failures and successes in their attempt to leave homosexuality. Experts in the field call it the first attempt to follow subjects who are undergoing Christian counseling over a series of years. Such a time-consuming study is called "longitudinal."

Among their findings:

-- 23 percent reported a successful conversion to heterosexual attractions.

-- 30 percent reported living a celibate life and were content with their reduction in homosexual attractions. Altogether, those latter two categories were combined for a 53 percent success rate, the researchers said.

-- 16 percent of subjects had modest decreases in homosexual attractions and weren't satisfied with their degree of change but were committed to continuing the process.

-- 7 percent had seen no decrease in homosexual attractions but had not given up trying to change.

-- 25 percent of subjects were considered "failures," either because they gave up on the process and once again identified as a homosexual (20 percent) or because they had not yet embraced a homosexual identity but nevertheless had given up (5 percent).

All the subjects were going through programs set up by Exodus International, a Christian ministry that seeks to help those who want to leave homosexuality. Although Exodus funded the study, Jones and Yarhouse agreed to conduct it only if all sides agreed that they would report the results no matter the outcome -- in other words, even if the findings embarrassed Exodus.

The latest findings were released four days after an American Psychological Association task force released a 130-page report that said "gay-to-straight" therapies are unlikely to work. That report got mixed reviews from conservatives, although APA's position on the issue is well-known: It believes homosexual attractions are "normal and positive variants" of human sexuality. The APA's website still states, "[T]here has been no scientifically adequate research to show that therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation (sometimes called reparative or conversion therapy) is safe or effective."

"The APA has previously asserted, with absolute clarity, that sexual orientation change is not possible -- that it simply doesn't occur," Jones, of Wheaton College, told Baptist Press. "The best way to test that is to study people as they're attempting change and follow them over a long period of time. Our study found that a significant portion of that population reported very significant change."

He added, "My sense is that our study is a good sample, and so I think that people can pursue the Exodus process with a cautious sense of optimism about the possibility of change, but we can't make absolute predictions."

Comparing the latest data to the initial set of data released two years ago, there was a significant increase in both the "success" and "failure" percentages and a decrease in the percentage of those who, at the time, had seen no significant change.

The percentage of those who considered themselves successful in changing increased from 38 percent to 53 percent, while the percentage of those who the researchers considered failures also went up, 12 percent to 25 percent. At the same time, the percentage of those who had seen only modest change or no change but had not given up on the change effort decreased from 44 percent to 23 percent.

The study actually began with 98 subjects, but 37 dropped out by the six-year mark for various reasons, Jones said. Some now considered themselves ex-homosexual and no longer wanted to be reminded about their past, while some went back to a homosexual identity and no longer trusted the researchers. Most of them, though, wouldn't return phone calls.

Jones expressed frustration that the APA task force didn't take their 2007 study seriously.

"They selectively apply rigorous scientific standards," he said. "So when it comes to examining the evidence that sexual orientation change can occur, they apply extraordinarily rigorous standards, and those standards allow them to disregard significant evidence that sexual orientation change can occur. That's what happens with our study. They, I think, invalidly applied several methodological concerns to dismiss our study.

"When the evidence goes against the view they're expressing, they apply strong scientific standards. And when the evidence goes with the views they're expressing, they're considerably more accepting."

The latest set of data is the final set from the researchers. A lack of funding, as well as a belief that the data is conclusive, has resulted in them stopping the longitudinal study. They will, though, continue to analyze the current data.

"In our experience from discussing with the subjects, an awful lot of them just want to move on," Jones said. "We had to really persuade people to stay in for this final assessment."

----Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press.

The Jones-Yarhouse study is available online at www.ivpress.com/media/pdfs/ex-gay-apa.pdf.

*****

Little Recognition Given To Study of Sexual Reorientation Therapy at APA Convention
Findings contradict the APA position that homosexuality is not changeable.

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

TORONTO, August 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Dr. Stanton Jones and his research partner, Dr. Mark Yarhouse, were given the opportunity, on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m., to present their findings on a study of sexual reorientation therapy, at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Toronto.

The paper titled, "Ex Gays? An Extended Longitudinal Study of Attempted Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation," was presented as a part of an APA symposium titled Sexual Orientation and Faith Tradition Symposium.

The six year study concluded that there is evidence that homosexual tendencies can be controlled and redirected toward normal sexual attraction.

The research was based on a study of 98 men and women who sought help from Exodus International, a Florida-based evangelical ministry that provides sexual-orientation conversion therapy and counseling. The group seeks to help individuals troubled by their sexual orientation to achieve "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."

Dr. Jones began his presentation by outlining the rejection of reorientation therapy for homosexuals by most professional mental health associations. Last week the American Psychological Association adopted a resolution urging mental health professionals to avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments.

"I had met people in the religious community who claimed to have changed," said Dr. Jones, a professor of psychology at Wheaton College, a Christian college in Illinois. "And at the same time I saw a growing momentum behind the view that change is impossible. As a scientist it is an empirically interesting question when you see a growing momentum behind a view but you feel that you also see exceptions to that view. So I thought it would be an interesting thing to study."

Jones then noted an important limit and hypotheses of the study: "Our study addresses the generic questions of whether sexual orientation is changeable, and whether the attempt is intrinsically harmful, by focusing only on the religiously mediated approaches to change; this is not a study of professional psychotherapy."

In light of the newly accepted convention that homosexuality is not a mental illness, the researchers stated that, "We hypothesized that sexual orientation is not changeable, and the attempt to change is likely harmful."

However, the study found two forms of successful reorientation away from homosexuality in the study group.

Thirty percent of the study group categorized themselves as successful in chastity: "Subjects who reported change to be successful and who reported homosexual attraction to be present only incidentally or in a way that does not seem to bring about distress, allowing them to live contentedly without overt sexual activity."

23% of the group reported a successful conversion to normal heterosexuality: "Subjects who reported change to be successful by experiencing substantial reductions in homosexual attraction and substantial conversion to heterosexual attraction and functioning."

Drs. Jones and Yarhouse conclude that their findings contradict the APA position that homosexuality is not changeable.

"In conclusion, the findings of this study would appear to contradict the commonly expressed view of the mental health establishment that sexual orientation is not changeable and that the attempt to change is highly likely to produce harm for those who make such an attempt."

The report also stressed the need to keep "a range of professional and ministry options open to clients who experience same?sex attraction, are distressed by this because of their moral or religious beliefs, and who may benefit from hearing about a number of intervention modalities."

The full text of the paper presented by Dr. Jones yesterday at the APA convention is available here.

See previous LSN coverage:

APA Officially Rejects Reorientation Treatment for Homosexuals

APA Ignored Evidence that Homosexual Behaviour is Part of Psychiatric Disorder Says Noted Psychiatirst

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09081006.html