Growth and Development of Sexuality in Adolescents
What is Sexual Development?
Sexual development is the biological pathway for any species to allow reproduction and therefore survival over generations. This has led to highly complex arrangements during evolution to allow offspring to differentiate into either male or female.
Growth and Development Related to Sexuality:
Growth and development are continuous processes, which bring a change in an individual, every moment. Development of sexuality starts as early as in intrauterine life following conception and continues through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood till death. During infancy, there is no awareness of gender. The child acknowledges its gender in early childhood as early as by 3 years. Self- awareness about sexuality (gender role, gender identity) evolves during the childhood. Biological research evidences are suggestive of the definite role of androgens in deciding the gender sensitive roles and gender-specific behaviors.
Development of Sexuality in an Adolescent:
Adolescence is a phase of transition during which major developments of sexuality jakes place. Puberty is reached during adolescence, which is a major landmark in the development of sexuality. The hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis function is highly essential for the sexual development during puberty. Adolescence can be broadly divided into three stages: Early (10-13 years), middle (14-16 years), and late (17-19 years).
- Physical changes start in early adolescence, where they are very concerned about their body image. Cognitive development takes place, adolescents develop abstract thinking and reasoning.
- Emotionally, they develop a sense of identity during late adolescence; social involvement, peer interaction, as well as sexual interest, develop in this phase.
- During adolescence the gonadal hormones, cortisol, and many other hormones play a role in causing the onset of puberty.
- The secondary sexual characters are expressed due to this neuro-endocrinal influence.
- In both males and females-pubic hairs, axillary hairs develop which take a gender specific growth pattern.
- In males, there occurs enlargement of genitals, appearance of beard and mustache, and the physique takes a typical masculine shape.
- In females, there occurs development of breast; menstruation starts, genitalia take an adult shape and the physique changes to a feminine type. An adolescent’s interest in a sexual relationship is also influenced by the hormones.
- Individual’s personality or temperament is an important psychological factor that also decides the attitude toward sexuality.
- Introvert adolescents face difficulty in approaching and responding sexually.
- Social factors or environmental factors also play a significant role in the development of adolescent sexuality.
- The attitude of the parents toward sexuality, parenting style, peer relationship, cultural influences are the important social factors which facilitates the sexual learning and decides the sexual attitude of the adolescent.
- Sigmund Freud had proposed his theory of psychosexual development, where he described about oral phase, anal phase, phallic phase, latency phase, and genital phase as the landmark steps of psycho-sexual development. During these phases, different body parts behave as most erotogenic and the individual attempts to explore or stimulate these erotogenic zones in order t0 get gratification.
More questions related to this article:
- What do you mean by sexual development?
- What is growth and development related to sexuality?
- Describe the development of sexuality in an adolescent.
- What are the changes occur during the development of sexuality in an adolescent?
