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Sexual Identity
Sexual identity refers to an individual’s self-concept as heterosexual (denoting exclusive attractions to the other sex), lesbian/gay (denoting exclusive attractions to the same sex), bisexual (denoting sexual attractions to both sexes), or none of the above (including individuals who feel that none of these categories adequately describes them as well as individuals who feel that they are asexual and have no sexual attraction to either sex). This entry reviews contemporary scientific thinking on the development and life-span expression of sexual identity, clarifies how sexual identity differs from sexual orientation, reviews the different motives that may underlie an individual’s selection of specific identity labels, and discusses the psychosocial challenges faced by individuals who adopt nonheterosexual identities at all stages of life.
Diversity in Development of Sexual Identity
Early ...
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- Storytelling
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- Taste
- Teachers
- Technology Use
- Theory of Mind
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- Community and Culture
- Acculturation
- Advertising
- Age-Irrelevant Society
- Animism
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- Beliefs
- Capacity Building
- Civic Engagement
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- Climate and Environment
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- Computer Science
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- Conflict-Affected Countries, Children and Adolescents in
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- Conservatism
- Consumption
- Cooperation
- Corporal Punishment
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- Death Rates, Leading Causes by Developmental Period
- Demographic Transition
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- Behavioral Inhibition (Shyness)
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- Character Strengths and Virtues
- Competence Versus Performance
- Creativity
- Dismissive-Avoidant Individuals
- Ego Development
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- Ethnicity
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- Identity
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- Jealousy and Envy
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- Motivation (Intrinsic, Extrinsic)
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- Perfectionism
- Personality
- Physical Appearance
- Planning Skills
- Playfulness
- Pride
- Purpose
- Resilience
- Security
- Self-Esteem
- Self-Worth
- Sensation Seeking
- Sexual Identity
- Sexuality
- Skill
- Social Identity
- Temperament
- Temperament and Personality
- Tolerance
- Trustworthiness
- Well-Being
- Wisdom
- Relationships and the Social World
- Adolescent–Parent Relationships
- Adoption
- Adult Attachment
- Aggression
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- Attraction, Interpersonal
- Autonomy-Supportive Parenting
- Beanpole Family
- Blended Family
- Caregiver Stress
- Close Relationships
- Coaching
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- Convoy Model
- Coparenting
- Dating
- Diverse Families/Stepfamilies
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence/Partner Violence
- Dyadic Regulation
- Ethnic-Racial Socialization
- Familism
- Family Chaos
- Family Contexts
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- Family Synchrony
- Family Systems
- Fathering
- Filial Anxiety
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- Friendships
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Issues
- Gender Socialization
- Glass Ceiling
- Grandchildren
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- Household Economics
- Indirect Aggression
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- Intersubjectivity
- Kinship
- Marital Conflict
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- Marriage
- Mattering
- Mentoring
- Multigenerational Family
- Neurobiology of Affiliation
- Neurobiology of Mothering
- Nuclear Family
- Online Communication
- Organization of Relationships: Messiness and Reparation
- Ostracism
- Parent–Child Conflict
- Parent–Child Interactions
- Parent–Child Synchrony
- Parental Authority
- Parental Conditional Regard
- Parenting
- Parenting by Lesbians and Gay Men; Outcomes for Children and Youth
- Parenting Style
- Peer Rejection
- Peer Victimization
- Peers
- Pets
- Popularity
- Public Engagement
- Remarriage
- Romantic Relationships
- School–Family Links
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- Single Parenthood
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- Social Competence
- Social Exclusion
- Social Groups
- Social Information Processing
- Social Isolation
- Social Networks
- Social Relationships
- Social Support
- Stepfamilies
- Stepfamilies and Blended Families
- Street Life
- Teen Parenthood
- Transactions
- Victimization
- Work/Family Conflict
- Services
- Adult Day Services
- Assisted Living
- Child Care
- Continuing Care Retirement Communities
- Early Child Care
- End-of-Life Care
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- Nursing Homes and Skilled Nursing Facilities
- Palliative Care
- Prevention Programs
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- Altruism
- Art
- Asceticism
- Athletics
- Attitudes
- Authority
- Awe
- Beauty
- Causality
- Census
- Conformity
- Conscience
- Dance
- Deception
- Discipline
- Dissent
- Empathy
- Ethics
- Familism
- Forgiveness
- Free Will
- Gender
- Generosity
- Glass Ceiling
- Human Rights
- Identity Development
- Ideology
- Inequality
- Insurance
- Justice
- Law
- Leadership
- Leisure
- Liberalism
- Materialism
- Mattering
- Media
- Morality
- Negotiation
- Norms
- Organizations
- Ownership
- Paradox
- Philanthropy
- Politics
- Property
- Public Engagement
- Reciprocity
- Rejection Versus Acceptance
- Sin
- Social Capital
- Social Categorization
- Social Inequality
- Social Status
- Socioeconomic Status
- Specificity Principle
- Status Hierarchy
- Stereotype (Stereotyping)
- Symbolic Representation
- Time
- Universal Education
- Values
- War
- Work
- Socioemotional Development
- Affective Forecasting
- Aggression
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Bullying
- Character Strengths and Virtues
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- Child Maltreatment
- Closure and Grief
- Compassion
- Coping
- Crying
- Cyberbullying
- Difficult Children
- Discriminating Sociability
- Discrimination/Prejudice
- Disgust
- Doubt
- Emotion Regulation
- Emotion Socialization
- Emotional Expression
- Emotional Intelligence
- Emotion-Focused Coping
- Emotions
- Empathy
- Fear
- Gender Development
- Gender Identity Development
- Gratitude
- Grief
- Guilt
- Happiness
- Hope
- Jealousy and Envy
- Life Goals
- Life Satisfaction
- Loneliness
- Love
- Parent–Child Interaction
- Persuasion
- Phobias
- Prosociality
- Psychological Needs
- Psychosexual Stages of Development
- Psychosocial Development
- Psychosocial Moratorium
- Regret
- Sadness
- Self
- Self-Actualization
- Self-Deception
- Self-Esteem
- Self-Perceptions
- Self-Regulation
- Self-Worth
- Sensation Seeking
- Sex Differences
- Sex Education
- Sexual Assault
- Sexual Attitudes
- Sexual Identity
- Sexual Risk Behaviors
- Shame
- Smile
- Social and Emotional Behavior
- Social Anxiety
- Social Development
- Social Understanding
- Sympathy
- Theory of Mind
- Trust
- Theory
- Activity Theory
- Developmental Theory
- Diathesis–Stress Model
- Dynamic Systems Theory
- Eriksonian Theory
- Ethnotheories
- Evolutionary Theories of Aging
- Information Processing
- Life History Theory
- Piaget’s Theory
- Programmed Theories of Aging
- Psychoanalytic Theory
- Relational Developmental Systems
- Social Cognitive Theory
- Social Equity Theory
- Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
- Solidarity Theory
- Specificity Principle
- Universals
- Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
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