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8 - Developmental Trajectories and Milestones of Sexual-Minority Youth

from Adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Sharon Lamb
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Boston
Jen Gilbert
Affiliation:
York University, Toronto
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Summary

This chapter takes as an object of study the developmental milestones and trajectories of contemporary sexual-minority youth, a generation who have redefined themselves more rapidly, and perhaps more queerly, than most academic research can keep pace with. The author works from a differential developmental trajectories framework to trace the diverse developmental paths of sexual minority youth in ways that make space for their uniqueness while also acknowledging that they are still, in many ways, typical youth. This chapter gives a comprehensive overview of the research on how sexual-minority youth navigate and come to understand their sexuality from their earliest childhood memories to adulthood.
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Chapter
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The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual Development
Childhood and Adolescence
, pp. 156 - 179
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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