Children's Sexual Orientation Development

Definition

The process through which a person's sexual orientation, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual, develops and becomes established during childhood and adolescence.

Related terms

Gender Identity:

A person's deeply-held sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Sexual Identity: An individual's self-perceived sexual preferences and attractions towards others.

Nature vs. Nurture: The ongoing debate about whether an individual's traits are primarily influenced by genetics (nature) or by environmental factors (nurture).