As adolescents navigate their sexuality, they may also begin to question their sexual identity and gender identity.
Gender identity Gender Identity Various terms are used to talk about sex and gender: Sex refers to a person's anatomy: male, female, or not clearly male or female ( ambiguous genitals, or intersex). Sexual identity refers... read more is how people see themselves, whether male, female, or something else (sometimes called genderqueer, genderfluid, nonbinary, or agender), which may be somewhere in-between a combination of male and female, or may be neither, or may frequently change. Transgender is any gender identity in which people feel that the sex they were assigned at birth does not match their gender identity.
Gender expression is how people present themselves in public in terms of gender. It includes the way people dress, speak, wear their hair—in fact everything that people say and do that indicates masculinity or femininity.
Some adolescents struggle with sexual identity. They may be unsure of what they are feeling, but it is common for adolescents to be attracted to or have sexual thoughts about people of the same sex and people of the opposite sex. However, many adolescents who explore homosexual or bisexual relationships ultimately do not continue to be interested in same-sex relationships, whereas others never develop interest in opposite-sex relationships. Homosexuality Overview of Sexuality Sexuality is the way in which people experience and express the instincts and feelings that make up physical attraction for others. It is a normal part of human experience and is determined... read more , bisexuality, and asexuality are normal variations of human sexuality and are not disorders. Although it is not understood exactly why homosexual or bisexual feelings develop, experts do not think sexual or gender identities are something adolescents learn from their peers or the media or something they choose the same way they select an after-school activity or a career path. Adolescents who have a strong sense of their homosexual or bisexual identity may “come out” to their close friends or family members.
Few elements of the human experience combine physical, intellectual, and emotional aspects as thoroughly as sexuality and all the feelings that go along with it. Helping adolescents put sexuality and gender identity into a healthy context is extremely important. Parents should share their values and expectations openly with their adolescents but be receptive and supportive as their child’s sexual and gender identities develop.
Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Children who are entering adolescence are going through many changes. This article offers advice for adolescents and parents to negotiate these changes.
Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Children who are entering adolescence are going through many changes (physical, intellectual, personality and social developmental). Adolescence begins at puberty, which now occurs earlier, on average, than in the past. The end of adolescence is tied to social and emotional factors and can be somewhat ambiguous.
What are the physical changes of adolescence?
There are three main physical changes that come with adolescence:
- The growth spurt (an early sign of maturation);
- Primary sex characteristics (changes in the organs directly related to reproduction);
- Secondary sex characteristics (bodily signs of sexual maturity that do not directly involve reproductive organs)
What are the intellectual changes of adolescence?
Adolescent thinking is on a higher level than that of children. Children are only able to think logically about the concrete, the here and now. Adolescents move beyond these limits and can think in terms of what might be true, rather than just what they see is true. They are able to deal with abstractions, test hypotheses and see infinite possibilities. Yet adolescents still often display egocentric behaviors and attitudes.
What are the social and emotional changes of adolescence?
Adolescents are also developing socially and emotionally during this time. The most important task of adolescence is the search for identity. (This is often a lifelong voyage, launched in adolescence.) Along with the search for identity comes the struggle for independence.
How can parents support healthy adolescent development?
While adolescence can be a trying period for both youth and their parents, the home does not have to become a battleground if both parents and young people make special efforts to understand one another. The following guidelines may help parents:
- Give your children your undivided attention when they want to talk. Don't read, watch television or busy yourself with other tasks.
- Listen calmly and concentrate on hearing and understanding your children's point of view.
- Speak to your children as courteously and pleasantly as you would to a stranger. Your tone of voice can set the tone of a conversation.
- Understand your children's feelings, even if you don't always approve of their behavior. Try not to make judgments. Keep the door open on any subject. Be an "open/approachable" parent.
- Avoid humiliating your children and laughing at what may seem to you to be naive or foolish questions and statements.
- Encourage your children to "test" new ideas in conversation by not judging their ideas and opinions, but instead by listening and then offering your own views as plainly and honestly as possible. Love and mutual respect can coexist with differing points of view.
- Help your children build self-confidence by encouraging their participation in activities of their choice (not yours).
- Make an effort to commend your children frequently and appropriately. Too often, we take the good things for granted and focus on the bad, but everyone needs to be appreciated.
- Encourage your children to participate in family decision-making and to work out family concerns together with you. Understand that your children need to challenge your opinions and your ways of doing things to achieve the separation from you that's essential for their own adult identity.
What can adolescents do during this time?
- Avoid looking at your parents as the enemy. Chances are that they love you and have your best interests in mind, even if you don't necessarily agree with their way of showing that.
- Try to understand that your parents are human beings, with their own insecurities, needs and feelings.
- Listen to your parents with an open mind, and try to see situations from their point of view.
- Share your feelings with your parents so that they can understand you better.
- Live up to your responsibilities at home and in school so that your parents will be more inclined to grant you the kind of independence you want and need.
- Bolster your criticisms of family, school and government with suggestions for practical improvements.
- Be as courteous and considerate to your own parents as you would be to the parents of your friends.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 06/11/2018.
References
- World Health Organization. Adolescent development. (//www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/development/en/) Accessed 6/13/2018.
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Stages of Adolescence. (//www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/Pages/Stages-of-Adolescence.aspx) Accessed 6/13/2018.
- American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Adolescent Development Part 1. (//www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Normal-Adolescent-Development-Part-I-057.aspx) Accessed 6/13/2018.
- American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Normal Adolescent Development Part II. (//www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AACAP/docs/facts_for_families/58_normal_adolescent_development.pdf) Accessed 6/13/2018.
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