Development of sexual orientation among adolescent and young adult women.
Although some research suggests that sexual orientation is a stable, early appearing trait, interviews with 89 young sexual-minority women revealed that a majority of women failed to report at least one of the following: childhood indicators of sexual orientation, stability in same-sex attractions, or awareness of same-sex attractions prior to the conscious process of sexual questioning. Lesbians were not more likely to report these experiences than bisexuals, although they reported significantly greater same-sex attractions. Consistent with studies on older cohorts, few young women reported exclusive same-sex attractions. These findings suggest that recollected consistency among prior and current behavior, ideation, and attractions are not systematically associated with sexual orientation among contemporary young women.
Diamond
L M
LM
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA. lmd15@cornell.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D012725:Sexual Behavior