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Key research themes
1. How do variations in biological and psychosocial factors influence psychosexual identity development across diverse populations?
This body of research investigates the complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in shaping psychosexual identity, exploring how different conditions and contexts impact sexual development, identity consistency, and gender dysphoria. Understanding these mechanisms is critical for improving clinical approaches, supporting identity integration, and addressing psychosocial challenges faced by populations with atypical sexual development or identity trajectories.
Key finding: The longitudinal study of 156 GLB youths established that sexual identity is dynamic over time, with 57% maintaining a consistent gay/lesbian identity and 18% transitioning from bisexual to gay/lesbian, demonstrating identity... Read more
Key finding: Through a large cross-sectional European sample (n=1040), this study found varying rates of gender dysphoria and gender change across DSD subgroups, with notably low gender change among complete androgen insensitivity... Read more
Key finding: This study of 49 transgender adolescents diagnosed with gender dysphoria revealed differential mental health patterns by assigned sex at birth: AFAB youths exhibited more externalizing problems, whereas AMAB youths showed... Read more
Key finding: An international expert consensus outlined methodological standards for assessing the neurocognitive effects of GnRHa pubertal suppression in transgender youth, recommending longitudinal designs with multiple time points,... Read more
Key finding: In a clinical sample of 16 individuals with DSD, there was a single reported case of gender dysphoria, delayed sexual debut by approximately three years compared to national averages, and variable sexual activity. These... Read more
2. What are the developmental stages and psychoanalytic mechanisms underlying normative and atypical psychosexual maturation during childhood and adolescence?
This research theme focuses on theoretical and empirical advances in understanding psychosexual development stages and mechanisms, including emotional, cognitive, and behavioral changes from infancy through adolescence. It draws heavily on psychoanalytic, developmental, and neurobiological frameworks to elucidate how early experiences, unconscious processes, and socio-cultural contexts shape psychosexual identity emergence, fixation, and adaptation, with implications for education and clinical practice.
Key finding: This article proposes a detailed, stepwise model of sexual development focusing on emotional readiness and developmental needs from infancy to young adulthood, emphasizing that sexuality is a lifelong, multidimensional... Read more
Key finding: (Also cited in Theme 1 for its empirical longitudinal data) Here, the study underscores the processual nature of sexual identity development as involving identity formation and integration stages, highlighting psychoanalytic... Read more
Key finding: This paper encapsulates Freud’s psychoanalytic theory on psychosexual stages, notably oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital phases, detailing how fixation or unresolved conflicts in these stages can influence adult... Read more
Key finding: Multiple findings from this paper reinforce the developmental stage perspective by describing how affective and identity integration processes occur over time, supporting psychoanalytic developmental principles and... Read more
3. How do socio-cultural and educational frameworks shape adolescent psychosexual development and inform sex education approaches?
This research area examines the socio-cultural influences on adolescent sexual development, including parental attitudes, cultural norms, and educational practices, with a focus on the implications for sex education. It foregrounds the interaction between societal values, cognitive-emotional maturation, and behavioral manifestations of sexuality in adolescents, aiming to optimize sex education curricula and policy to support healthy psychosexual development within diverse cultural contexts.
Key finding: Integrating biological, psychological, and social factors, this comprehensive review describes adolescent sexuality as a multifaceted developmental dimension shaped by puberty, neuroendocrine changes, personality traits, and... Read more
Key finding: This article synthesizes psycho-theoretical perspectives—including Freudian psychosexual theory, Erikson’s psychosocial theory, and behavioral learning theories—with socio-cultural analyses to highlight how adolescent sex... Read more
Key finding: Through psychoanalytic clinical reflections and theoretical discourse, this paper articulates how gender identity and sexual development in adolescence are influenced by social history and cultural shifts, particularly in... Read more
Key finding: Using psychoanalytic literary criticism on a cultural text, this qualitative analysis demonstrates how early psychosexual development stages (oral and anal phases) manifest through dependent behaviors and emotional conflicts... Read more