Sexual Orientation in Human Development - Research Paper Example

Sexual Orientation in Human Development The number of special problems in human development is so large as to be almost infinite. However, the major problems that concern researchers all fall into a few overarching categories: nature versus nurture, early life experience versus later life experience, continuity versus discontinuity in development, and abnormal behavior versus individual differences. One problem that concerns all of these major categories is the development of sexual orientation. In the debate over nature versus nurture, researchers are attempting to understand the origin of sexual orientation. Does the environment in which an individual lives affect his sexual orientation or does sexual orientation have a genetic basis? The research on both sides is unclear, and the genesis of sexual orientation is important for social and political reasons as sexual orientation is currently a controversial topic in society. Additionally, sexual orientation deals with the debates between the importance of early life and later life experience and whether development is continuous or discontinuous. Do events in an individual’s life, either early in life or later in life, push them toward a certain sexual orientation? Also, is the development of sexual orientation a process that occurs throughout the life of an individual or is it accomplished within a certain stage of development? Lastly, the determination of whether certain sexual orientations are abnormal is currently a debate. Originally, psychology classified homosexual behavior as abnormal, but now, psychology considers sexual orientation as an individual difference. Since the problem of sexual orientation covers so many different categories of research, the topic is ripe for examination. Current Research General Comments While human development has been a concentration of psychology for almost the entire length of the discipline’s history, research on sexual orientation has been lacking. As Charlotte Patterson (1995) notes, the need to understand the development of sexual orientation has become increasingly important with the increased social and political emphasis on sexual issues. She points to the fact that psychology has largely ignored sexual minorities but that research is increasing. Of current concern is that there is no clear understanding of what causes the development of sexual orientation. Also, homosexuality and other non-heterosexual orientations are largely unstudied. Researchers are not even clear on the size of these minority populations or the effect that their sexuality has upon them. Nature versus Nurture On the side of nature, many researchers are looking for genetic links to sexual orientation. Is a chromosome responsible for an individual’s attraction to the same or opposite sex? Does some balance of hormones lead to different sexual orientations? Such researchers look to remove social and environmental factors. They choose to examine only biology as a basis for sexual orientation. One such study by Berenbaum and Snyder (1995) studied the effect of the hormone, androgen, on the development of sexual orientation. They noted that the presence of androgen early in a girl’s life is correlated with an increased preference of engaging in boys’ activities. They saw a correlation between this preference and the preference by homosexual women for men’s activities. Ultimately, however, the researchers could not provide any definite link between hormones and sexual orientation. On the side of nurture, many researchers are examining the role of environment on sexual orientation. Is a child reared by gay parents more likely to be gay? Does playing with certain gender-specific toys lead a child to choose a certain sexual orientation? These questions are at the forefront of an attempt to found sexual orientation in an environmental context. A study by Farr, Forssell, and Patterson (2010) sought to determine if the sexual orientation of a child’s parent influenced his sexual orientation. The researchers looked at children adopted by gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parent to see the effects of the environment on the children. As they state, “parental sexual orientation was unrelated to children’s adjustment (Farr, Forssell, and Patterson; 2010). The children, regardless of the parents’ sexual orientation, developed in a manner consistent with their peers. They did not show greater psychological problems or a difference from the norm in sexual orientation. Early Life versus Later Life Experience and Continuous versus Discontinuous Development When studying sexual orientation, researchers fall into two camps. Some see human development as a series of stages that an individual achieves throughout life. Others see development as smooth and continuous with constant change throughout the life span. The emphasis of these two camps causes them to focus on life experience in relation to sexual orientation. Many researchers who believe that development occurs in stages focus on early life experiences. They believe that the early life experiences of an individual influence his sexual orientation. The researchers who believe that development is not in stages also tend to believe that sexual orientation is a characteristic of the individual that is fluid, i.e. one that changes throughout life. As a researcher in the first camp, Saewyc (2011) compiled a meta-analysis of research conducted between 1998 and 2008 on adolescent development of sexual orientation. Because she focuses only on adolescents, she implies that there is something special about that period in regard to sexual orientation. In fact, she makes the assumption that sexual orientation is set in adolescence. Her meta-analysis looks at the trends for certain behaviors, risk factors, and other data based on the sexual orientation of the subjects. As researchers in the second camp, Boehmer, et.al. (2012) sought to examine health behaviors of adults based on their sexual orientation throughout their life. The researchers discovered that lesbian women were more likely to smoke and binge drink than hetero sexual women. They also discovered that homosexual men were more likely to seek preventative medical treatment than heterosexual men. Because these researchers looked at sexual orientation throughout the lifespan, they did not assume that sexual orientation was set at an early age. Abnormality versus Individual Difference The history of psychology is rife with changes in theory and opinion. Mentally disabled people were once kept in hospitals that were like zoos for scientists to study. Eventually, the science gained credibility and rigor and these type of practices fell into disuse. However, in regards to sexual orientation, until very recently, psychology considered homosexuality to be abnormal and included it in the DSM. Modern research has moved the focus away from treating minority sexual orientations as abnormalities to treating sexual orientation as a difference of the individual. In a scholarly editorial article, Strickland (1995) calls attention to the change in the study of sexual orientation. She opines that sexual orientation is a complex mixture of genetics, prenatal influences, and environmental influences. She seems to indicate that the study of sexual orientation is a complex subject that will require multiple methodologies in order to understand. But, overall, she argues for a view of sexual orientation that respects the differences of individuals and their development Why This Subject Matters General Comments The matter of sexual orientation has become an issue that has grown outside of psychology. Currently, the United States government, secular bodies, and religious bodies are making policies governing sexual orientation based on certain beliefs about sexual orientation. For instance many states within the United States are outlawing gay marriage in the belief that sexual orientation is a choice and that those who choose it must be punished. Secular bodies, such as the American Red Cross, do not allow gay individuals to donate blood because of an assumption that sexual orientation is linked to risky behavior. Religious bodies are expelling homosexuals because of the belief that homosexuality is a choice. Plan for Action The topic of sexual orientation and its development is not well-understood by researchers or the general public. Governmental, secular, and religious bodies all need to stop making any policies based on sexual orientation until society, through psychological research, understands its development more fully. Without a prohibition on new policy decisions, our society risks passing laws based on a faulty understanding of sexual orientation that will be difficult to repeal at a later date. Given the importance of sexual orientation as a social and political issue, researchers must conduct research on the topic and a much increased rate in order to prevent society from making too many mistakes. Racism, once based on so-called science, has become a burden that this country must bear, and sexual orientation is well on its way into the same situation. References Berenbaum, S. A., & Snyder, E. (1995). Early hormonal influences on childhood sex-typed activity and playmate preferences: Implications for the development of sexual orientation. Developmental Psychology, 31(1), 31-42. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.31 Boehmer, U. A. (2012). Adult Health Behaviors Over the Life Course by Sexual Orientation. American Journal Of Public Health, 102(2), 292-300. Farr, R. J. (2010). Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?. Applied Developmental Science, 14(3), 164-178. Patterson, C. J. (1995). Sexual orientation and human development: An overview. Developmental Psychology, 31(1), 3-11. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.3 Saewyc, E. M. (2011). Research on Adolescent Sexual Orientation: Development, Health Disparities, Stigma, and Resilience. Journal Of Research On Adolescence (Blackwell Publishing Limited), 21(1), 256-272. Strickland, B. R. (1995). Research on sexual orientation and human development: A commentary. Developmental Psychology, 31(1), 137-140. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.137 Read More