Age Groups And The Lifecycle - 1432 Words

Age Groups and the Lifecycle Children (Ages 3-12). Gender labels are placed on children prior to and after birth as we are taught about gender binary in an â€Å"either/or† fashion (Janssen Erickson-Schroth, 2013) during early years of development. For example, the newborn is either a boy or a girl and this predisposes children to gender specific ideologies. Gender revealing parties and baby showers are notorious for continuing traditional societal viewpoints of binary assumptions – girl or boy. Gender roles are established at an early age and children learn from their parents and caretakers of what is â€Å"right and wrong† in behaviors and preferences for specific genders. However, for children who are sexual minorities this can be a confusing†¦show more content†¦With the combination of puberty, social media, peers, and trying to fit in, adolescents are challenged with growing issues of identity development. This is especially true for youth who identify as transgender Although there has been increasing research and awareness for teens who identify with LGB; there are limited research and education for those who identify as transgender. The process of finding one’s identity has implications for youth outcomes while dormant identity development may be associated with poorer adjustment later in life (Bregman, Malik, Page, Makynen, Lindahl, 2012). Parental involvement in the process of gender identity and expression for adolescents has been a factor in the identity development of youth and teens. Bregman et al. (2012) suggests that how parents respond to their adolescent’s sexual minority status significantly influences the identity development in adolescent years into young adulthood. Parental responses and attitudes towards the youth’s sexual identity and expression is an imperative factor for adolescents. Adolescents who are rejected by their families because of their sexual minority status have found to be associated with an increase d likelihood of having depression, substance use, unprotected sex, and suicidal ideation (Bregman et al., 2012; Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, Sanchez, 2009).