Growing up is a demanding and challenging task for every adolescent. One important aspect is forming one's sexual identity. All children explore and experiment sexually as part of normal development. This sexual behavior may be with members of the same or opposite sex. For others, even thoughts or fantasies may cause anxiety.
Description
What is sexual orientation?
But this time, there were two new questions. One asked students about their sexual orientation; the second asked the gender of their partners. States could choose which CDC questions to ask their teens; 27 states agreed, enough, researchers believe, to offer data that can be extrapolated to the rest of the country. That made it the first-ever national survey to parse high schoolers by sexuality. For the first time, we know that some 1. They were twice as likely to be bullied, both online and on school property, and more than twice as likely to stay home from school to avoid violence they felt might befall them on the way there, or on school grounds. The numbers made very clear what activists have been saying for decades: The public health of queer youth must be documented, recognized, and protected. The struggle to get LGBT health taken seriously as a distinct category of risk goes back several generations.
INTRODUCTION
Most adolescents and adults identify themselves as heterosexual. However, paediatricians and other health care providers must be aware of the significant psychological, social and medical issues that face young people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Almost all of these issues arise from the stigmatization that these youth face, rather than from the orientation itself 1 , 2. Rather, the practitioner must create an environment in which the adolescent can discuss any questions or worries that they have, whether they identify themselves as homosexual, have found that they are attracted to people of the same gender, have had a sexual encounter with someone of the same gender or are confused about their feelings. The present paper reviews the relevant definitions, epidemiologies and approaches when working with gay, lesbian and bisexual youth.
Homosexuality is the consistent sexual and emotional attraction, including fantasy, interest, and arousal to a person of the same sex. Bisexuality is the sexual and emotional attraction to members of both sexes. References to homosexuality and bisexuality can be found in recorded history and literature dating back thousands of years. They are part of a trio of classifications referred to collectively as sexual orientation.
