Same-Sex Attraction and Successful Adolescents Development

• NCJ Number: 215392
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 563-575
• Author(s): Michael A. Busseri; Teena Willoughby; Heather Chalmers; Anthony R. Bogaert
• Date Published: August 2006
• Length: 13 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

As part of a larger research project designed to examine youth resilience and lifestyle choices, this study investigated the relation of adolescent same-sex attraction to successful adolescent development.

Abstract

The examination of a range of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental factors and contexts provided evidence of important similarities and differences in the lives of youth reporting varying types of same-sex attractions. In comparison to youth reporting exclusively heterosexual attractions, identification, or behaviors, non-heterosexual status was associated with heightened risk and difficulties. However, several positive developmental features were identified that characterized substantial proportions of youth reporting various types of non-heterosexual attractions, including: intrapersonal strengths, such as academic orientation, interpersonal resources, such as friends, and environmental conditions, such as school culture. Thus, desirable and undesirable features coexist in the lives of adolescents and both merit consideration regardless of the nature of youths’ sexual attraction. By examining multiple developmental factors and identifying developmental strengths, the approach illustrated in this study provides a framework for integrating the study of non-heterosexual youth into contemporary, mainstream adolescent research. Prior research studies have indicated that youth reporting some form of non-heterosexual status may be at heightened risk for problematic development compared to their heterosexual peers. In response to these studies, data from a large-scale survey of high school students were used to examine a broad range of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental domains in the lives of youth reporting varying types of same-sex attraction. In addition to group comparisons, the relative prevalence of developmental strengths and resources were examined across intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental domains. Tables and references