Psychosexual development Flashcards
1
Q
What is normal psycho-sexual development?
A
- differentiation between sexes begins in the first 3 months of foetal life
- Y chromosome in normal XY male leads to development of testes + secretion of foetal androgen
- the absence of these androgens results in normal feminization
2
Q
What is ‘sex’?
A
- defined by the gonads or potential gonads, either
- phenotypically
- or genotypically (male XY, female XX)
3
Q
What is gender identity?
A
- early awareness of belonging to one of two categories of human beings
- aka anatomical identity; defined by one’s own identification as male, female or intersex
- bossed on legal status, social interactions, public persona, personal experiences + psychological setting
4
Q
Describe the development of gender identity
A
- environment in which a baby is reared with respect to gender begins to take shape prior to birth
- sex of baby is assigned at birth (if not b4 w/ ultrasound)
- a gender bias probably exists in all newborns
- upon assignment of sex at birth, parents usually rear child as either male or female, with all associated env + social interactions
- not yet clear whether gender identity is truly inborn or even if it is changeable
5
Q
When does gender identity emerge?
A
- by 2-3 years
- at age 3, 80% of children can correctly answer the Q “are you going to be a mummy or daddy”
- parental decisions play the largest part in determining environmental influences
6
Q
What is gender identity reinforced by during childhood?
A
by gender role (preference for same sex playmates etc)
7
Q
What factors are important in determining gender identity in adolescence?
A
- inherited factors of sexuality, personality traits, peer interaction + anxieties are most important
8
Q
What is gender identity like by late adolescence/early adulthood?
A
- usually established
- usually an accompanying gender role is well defined
9
Q
What is meant by ‘gender role’?
A
- outward manifestations of personality that reflect the gender identity
- also called masculinity + femininity
10
Q
When do gender roles start?
A
- gender-types toy preferences at age 1 year
- age 2-3 years, boys are more aggressive towards peers
- observations confirmed in diff cultures, much overlap
11
Q
What is adolescence?
A
- latin - “to grow up”
- high correlation between first two components of sexual identity in children and later sexual orientation
- physical, social, psychological changes
- sexual behaviour
12
Q
Sigmund Freud proposed “libido develpoment”, with five psychosexual stages. What are they?
A
- oral (birth-1yr)
- anal (1-3yrs)
- phalic (3-6yrs)
- latency (6yrs-puberty)
- genital (puberty-death)
“old age pensioners love grapes”
13
Q
What 3 disturbances make up atypical psycho-sexual development?
A
- disturbances of gender identity
- disturbances of gender behaviour
- disturbances of sexual preference
note: atypical does not mean abnormal
14
Q
What is gender identity disorder?
A
- also known as gender dysphoria / “trans-sexual”
- occurs in both children + adults
- recent evidence has pointed to brain structure as a major determinant of gender identity
- most such children wear clothes of the opp sex, play w/ toys preferred by opp sex + have difficulty in same-sex peer interactions
15
Q
How common is gender identity disorder?
A
- rare (1 in 100,000)
- male:female = 2.5:1
- therapy - behavioural sex reassignment?
- outcome - between 66-90% are happy
16
Q
What is the difference between transexualism and transvestism?
A
- transexual: strong + persistent cross-gender identification; repeated stated desire to be of opp sex, persistent discomfort with one’s own sex or gender role
- transvestite: cross-dressing w/out any true confusion about gender identity, “gender illusionist”, cross-dressing process is itself sexually arousing, classified as a fetish
17
Q
What is hermaphroditism?
A
- people with anatomically inter-sexed conditions are, at times referred to as hermaphrodites
- in past, one sex was chosen for rearing
- increasingly, some allow the inter-sex state to remain until self-determination can be made
- ambiguous genitalia (?)
18
Q
What is micropenis?
A
- stretched penile length more than 2 SDs below normal adult mean
- linked to gender issues, body image, social fitness, sexuality, work, family adjustment + presence of psychopathology
19
Q
What are Hijaras?
A
- castrated males or male kids w/ ambiguous external genitalia
- traditionally function as male prostitutes
- many have feelings of worthlessness, shame + guilt
- in India
20
Q
What is gender orientation?
A
- sexual / gender orientation
- direction of erotic + romantic interests
- age of onset unclear
- heterosexual - homosexual
21
Q
What is heterosexual behaviour?
A
- first sexual exp of any type: about 13 years for boys + 14 years for girls
- avg age of first full sexual intercourse is around 17 yrs for both sexes
- proportion of young women exp full sexual intercourse before age of 16 yrs increased from <1% (1940s) to ~20% (1990s) w/ inc in young men over this period being from 5% -> 30%
22
Q
What is homosexuality?
A
- term first used in 1869
- attitudes towards same-sex relationships have varied over time + place
- ‘sexual orientation identity’ and sexual fluidity (about 2% of adults report a change of sex orientation identity after a 10yr period)
23
Q
What is the frequency of homosexuality?
A
- 2-11% of ppl have had some form of same-sex sexual contact within their lifetime
- estimates of frequency of homosexuality vary from 1.6% -> 6%, although having some homosexual feelings may be more common (perhaps 20%)
24
Q
What is the prevalence of homosexuality in females?
A
- prob occurs in about 10% of pre-adolescent girls in our society
- present in about 1-2% of adult female population
25
What did Freud say about homosexuality?
* freud was interested in subject of homosexuality thru his career
* whilst freud distinguished between "perversion" and "inversion" (the name he gave to homosexuality), he always considered it an inhibition of normal development
26
Describe the history of homosexuality being classified as a mental disorder
* homosexuality incl as a disorder in first edition of *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders* (1952)
* The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the *DSM* in 1973
* The WHO *ICD-9 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders* (1977) listed homosexuality as a mental illness
* it was removed from *ICD-10*, published in 1992
27
What does the prenatal androgen model suggest?
suggests that non-typical prenatal hormone exposure is related to the development of human homosexuality
28
What changes in the brain are associated with homosexuality?
* structural diffs in hypothalamus (**interstitial nucleus of hypothalamus** IANH3)
* **suprachiasmatic nucleus** (SCN) of ant hypothalamus larger in homo
* **thalamus** volume is smaller in homo
* **BNST** (forebrain limbic area) larger in homo
* **amygdala** differences
* **anterior commisure** larger in gay men + hetero women
* **corpus callosum** larger in gay men
* **grey matter** difference between gay and hetero women
* **cerebral cortex** thinner in gay men
29
What is cerebral asymmetry like in homo and hetero men/women?
* gay men + hetero women have symmetrical hemispheric volumes
* homo women + hetero men have asymmetrical hemispheric volumes
30
What did twin studies for homosexuality suggest?
* initial studies suggested high levels of concordance for identical twins
* failed to allow for recruitment bias, small sample size + env influences
* other studies suggest 20% or 7% concordance rates for male identical twins
* and 24% or 5.3% for female identical twins
31
What do chromosomal linkage studies show?
* Hamer et al (93) found **gay men had more gay uncles + cousins on maternal side of family** than on paternal side
* gay brothers w this pedigree were **tested for X-chromosomal linkage**: a higher % than expected had similar alleles in region **Xq28** ("gay-gene")
* meta-analysis of all available linkage data indicates a significant link to Xq28, but also indicates that _additional genes_ must be present to account for _full heritability_ of sexual orientation
* chromosome 8 may also be implicated
32
What do epigenetic studies show?
* woman have 2 X-chromosomes, one of which is randomly switched off
* Bocklandt et al (06) reported that in mothers of gay men, # of men with extreme skewing of X-chromosome inactivation is significantly higher than in mothers without gay sons
* more mother X-chromosome skewing = likely to have gay son
33
What does 'birth order' suggest about homosexuality?
* each additional older brother increased the odds of a man being gay by 33% (Blanchard + Klassen 97)
* this led to "maternal immunization hypothesis" but, by itself, such a response cannot account for freq of homosexuality
34
How is female fertility linked to homosexuality?
* female relatives of gay men tended to have more offspring than those of heterosexual men
* and female relatives of the gay men on their mother's side tended to have more offspring than those on the father's side
* conclusion -\> genetic material being passed down on X-chromosome which promoted fertility in the mother + homosexuality in her male offspring
* this would account for 20% of cases studied
35
What is meant by pheromones in regards to homosexuality?
gay + straight men may respond differently to two odours believed to be involved in sexual arousal in sweat/urine
36
What can we conclude about homosexuality?
* likely to be complex interaction of genetic, hormonal + env influences
* normal and natural variation in human sexuality
* is _not_ a "lifestyle choice"
37
What did the Nuffield Council on bioethics report in 2002?
"There are numerous problems with genetic and other biological research into sexual orientation which mean that any reported findings must be viewed w/ caution"
38
Who may hold negative views of gays and lesbians?
* medical students
* health-care professionals
* mental health care professionals
* 4% would attempt to change a client's SO
39
Do children show sexualised behaviour in childhood?
* not unusual for infants to play w their genitals in first year of life
* masturbation develops from genital play
* games (eg. playing doctor) common by age 4 years
40
Describe sexualisd behaviour in chilldhood at the following ages:
* 5
* 7
* 9-11
* **5**: some reduction in sexual activity + apparent erotic interest
* **7**: relationships tend to be w same-sex peers
* children aware of adult prohibitions around sex
* **9-11**: peer group activites may occur
41
Describe sexualised behaviour in boys (puberty, 14, 18, 19)
* puberty - growth of penis + testes begins age 10-11, pubic hair by 12-13
* by age 14: 80% of boys have masturbated
* by age 18: 90-98% have masturbated
* by age 19: 79% have had sexual intercourse
42
Describe sexualised behaviour in girls
* puberty begins at 9-14
* 8-13: breast buds
* 12.5: menarche
* masturbation less freq in girls than boys
* by age 18, about 60% of girls have had intercourse
* girls who mature early tend to be viewed negatively by peers + adults
43
What can be causes of excessive masturbation in younger children?
* neglect
* sexual abuse
