Sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Consistency and change over time

Abstract

A longitudinal report of 156 gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths examined changes in sexual identity over time. Fifty-seven percent of the youths remained consistently self-identified as gay/lesbian, 18% transited from bisexual to gay/lesbian, and 15% consistently identified as bisexual over time. Although youths who consistently identified as gay/lesbian did not differ from other youths on time since experiencing sexual developmental milestones, they reported current sexual orientation and sexual behaviors that were more same-sex centered and they scored higher on aspects of the identity integration process (e.g., more certain, comfortable, and accepting of their same-sex sexuality, more involved in gay-related social activities, more possessing of positive attitudes toward homosexuality, and more comfortable with others knowing about their sexuality) than youths who transited to a gay/lesbian identity and youths who consistently identified as bisexual. Contrary to the hypothesis that females are more sexually fluid than males, female youths were less likely to change identities than male youths. The finding that youths who transited to a gay/lesbian identity differed from consistently gay/lesbian youths suggests that identity integration continues after the adoption of a gay/lesbian sexual identity.

The Coming-Out Process of Young Lesbian and Bisexual Women: Are There Butch/Femme Differences in Sexual Identity Development?

“…We expect that bisexual butches do not constitute a prevalent group because, although there may be exceptions, bisexual women may be more likely to attempt to maintain a more femme presentation so as to maximize their attractiveness to both male and female partners. Further, bisexual women, some of whom may be less certain of their identity, less comfortable with their identity, and less comfortable with others knowing about their identity (e.g., Rosario et al, 2006), may maintain a more femme self-presentation so as to avoid others questioning whether they are lesbian or bisexual. Likewise, young butch women who identify as bisexual may be more likely to be questioned about their sexuality than femme-identified bisexuals, perhaps leading the former to question their sexual identity earlier than femme-identified women.…”

“…Another aspect of the coming-out process is the unfolding of sexual identities, sexual attractions, and sexual behaviors that are congruent with one another (Rosario, Schrimshaw, Hunter, & Braun, 2006). Thus, a young woman who adopts a lesbian identity would be expected to be more same-sex oriented in her attractions and behaviors than a woman who is consistently bisexual or who may be questioning her sexual identity.…”

“…However, because the coming-out process necessarily takes time to work through and integrate, we have argued that more important than age when milestones occur is the how recently the milestones occurred (i.e., the length of time between first experiencing these milestones and the present; Rosario et al, 2006). Indeed, two young women who first experienced attractions towards women at age 15 may actually be very different, if one is currently 16 (one year later) and the other is 21 (six years later).…”

Health Disparities Among Common Subcultural Identities of Young Gay Men: Physical, Mental, and Sexual Health

“…We therefore do not know how common some of the higher-risk identities were. Second, other Younger men, for example, are more likely to be in a process of sexual identity development, such as coming to terms with their sexual orientation, forming a sexual identity, and "coming out" to people around them (Grov, Bimbi, NaníN, & Parsons, 2006;Rosario, Schrimshaw, Hunter, & Braun, 2006). They are also encountering many first-time experiences involving sex and relationships.…”

Sexual behaviour, debut and identity among Swedish Schoolchildren

“…For example, one can identify oneself as heterosexual, be attracted to both men and women and have or have not had same-sex or opposite-sex sexual experiences. The same person can have different orientations between the dimensions (Rosario et al, 2006). Researchers should carefully choose which dimensions of sexual orientation and which measures they wish to use (Priebe & Svedin, 2012).…”