The Development of Sexuality

Abstract

This chapter provides a comprehensive review of current research on children's and adolescents' sexual motivations, desires, and behaviors, and the multiple factors that influence the unfolding of their sexual‐developmental trajectories. We adopt the view that sexual desire and behavior represent normative features of child and adolescent development that have the potential to foster and enhance the happiness, psychological development, and well‐being of youth, but also introduce health risks and concerns. We review research on developmental changes in sexual desire and motivation, participation in partnered and unpartnered sexual behavior, contextual influences on sexual expression, prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, sexual coercion, and the growing influence of digital media use. We also review the unique experiences of youth with same‐sex attractions and behavior, as well as with atypical gender expression (i.e., transgender youth). We conclude with specific recommendations for future research, aiming to provide a generative roadmap to the next generation of scientific research on this critical—but still understudied—area of human development.

Childhood gender-typed behavior and adolescent sexual orientation: A longitudinal population-based study.

“…Third, few studies have evaluated relations between childhood gender-typed behavior and nonexclusive attractions (e.g., mostly heterosexual, bisexual, and mostly lesbian/gay), although nonexclusively attracted individuals outnumber exclusively lesbian/gay individuals and comprise the majority of sexual minorities (Diamond, Bonner, & Dickenson, 2015;Savin-Williams, 2014Savin-Williams & Vrangalova, 2013). In other words, while Running head: GENDER-TYPED BEHAVIOR AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION 8 there is a consistent mean difference between lesbian/gay and heterosexual individuals, it is not clear if there is a monotonic increase in childhood gender nonconforming behavior across the sexual orientation spectrum from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively lesbian/gay.…”

An Exploration of the Relations Between Self-Reported Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in an Online Sample of Cisgender Individuals

“…Challenges to the binary view of sexuality arise from findings in cisgender individuals that sexual orientation is a multi-dimensional construct (Vrangalova & Savin-Williams, 2012) that does not fit distinct categories (reviewed in Savin-Williams, 2016), and that may change across the life span (Diamond, Bonner, & Dickenson, 2015; Dickson, Paul, & Herbison, 2003; Meier, Pardo, Labuski, & Babcock, 2013; Mock & Eibach, 2012; Ott, Corliss, Wypij, Rosario, & Austin, 2011). …”

Sexual Experimentation in Heterosexual, Bisexual, Lesbian/Gay, and Questioning Adolescents From Ages 11 to 15

“…One distinctive phenomenon during adolescence is sexual experimentation: Compared to children, more adolescents engage in sexual activities to explore their own and partners’ bodies, to gain pleasure and intimacy, and to achieve identity formation, integration, and commitment (reviewed in Diamond, Bonner, & Dickenson, ). Sexual experimentation among adolescents increases with age and involves different types of sexual activities, ranging from low intensity (e.g., cuddling) to moderate intensity (e.g., kissing on the mouth) and to high intensity (e.g., having oral sex) (Carver, Joyner, & Udry, ; Hansen, Paskett, & Carter, ).…”