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AIM How do parenting style facilitate/impede the transition of homosexual adolescents into young adults (i.e. individuation) during development? RATIONALE During adolescence, identity development is a significant aspect of creating a healthy personality and positive self-esteem. Establishing values and likes/dislikes are part of adolescent development and these concepts apply to all adolescents. (Prof Broughton Lecture Notes, July 16) However, in mainstream America, the relationship between homosexuality and adolescent development is often overlooked. People often forget to realize the homosexual adolescent experience adds developmental stages that encase their sexuality; “coming out” and discerning their sexuality fuel adolescents into confusion, prolonging individuation. Erik Erikson refers to this phase as “identity crisis” where the search for the ultimate self takes place. Research has shown that molding beliefs and figuring out what one likes is part of adolescent development. THEORIES Gay adolescents find themselves grappling with issues of their sexuality before they can develop into adults in order to separate themselves from their parents. It is positive feedback, expressed in love and acceptance from parents that shows correlation with the adolescent’s self-worth. “Over the past fifty years, research has revealed that parenting styles have a strong impact on child and adolescent development (Beaty, p.598). Furthermore, societal influences and adolescent free initiative are also theories to rationalize gay development. Each factor shapes how the adolescents perceive their own development. However, the focus of this paper will lie strictly in parental attitudes affecting adolescent autonomy using only examples of societal and self-influences to strengthen my analysis in addressing adolescent turmoil. The theory concentrates on the effects of the parent-child relationship and how that could determine adolescent’s individuation from their parents. METHOD The method of investigation included data collected through face-to-face interviews with four of my gay friends who all aged twenty-three, and research data drawn from interview studies from Boxer, Cook, and Herdt, 1991 and Floyd, Stein, Harter, and Nye, 1999. Boxer’s research interviewed two hundred and two youths ranging in age from fourteen to twenty-one and Floyd’s research involved seventy-two youths ranging in age from sixteen and twenty-four. All the interviews focused mainly on adolescent-parent relationship, and included questions about demographics, sexual orientation, coming out experiences, and future expectations. However my focus pertained solely on certain types of parental behavior affecting adolescent self-esteem and emotional distress.
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