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Handbook of Identity Theory and Research pp 671–689Cite as

Identity Development Among Sexual-Minority Youth

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Abstract

Sexual identity is the name and meaning individuals assign to themselves based on the most salient sexual aspects of their life – such as sexual attractions, fantasies, desires, and behaviors. Sexual identities usually fall within existing social categories, such as straight, bisexual, or lesbian/gay, and are historically and culturally specific. Youth in today’s cohort have expanded the list of sexual identities, moving beyond traditional notions of a gay, bisexual, or heterosexual orientation to include gender identity and partner characteristics. Social scientists from a variety of disciplines have proposed models of sexual identity. In this chapter, the most frequently cited and tested sexual identity model, Cass’s homosexual identity formation model, is evaluated. An alternative perspective, differential developmental trajectories, has recently been proposed that focuses on developmental milestones that contribute to a sexual identity. Besides recognizing the inherent uniqueness of every life, this perspective proposes that in many developmental processes, sexual-minority youth are similar to all other adolescents of their sex, ethnicity, class, and cohort. Also discussed are the possibility of a “straight sexual identity” and two major problems with sexual identity models – the instability of sexual identity over time and its occasional inconsistency with sexual behavior and attraction. The distinctive aspects of growing up lesbian or gay have greatly diminished as the current cohort of youth has increasingly accepted sexual diversity as normative, acceptable, and even desirable. Thus, the demise of sexual identity is forecast as youth of all sexualities are refusing and resisting sexual identity labels.

This chapter is an update of my previous writings, particularly Savin-Williams, 2005, 2009, portions of which have been modified for the current chapter.

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  1. Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Ritch C. Savin-Williams

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  1. Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public He, University of Miami, N.W. 10th Avenue, Suite 321 1425, Miami, 33136, Florida, USA

    Seth J. Schwartz

  2. , Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, Leuven, 3000, Belgium

    Koen Luyckx

  3. School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QH, United Kingdom

    Vivian L. Vignoles

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Savin-Williams, R.C. (2011). Identity Development Among Sexual-Minority Youth. In: Schwartz, S., Luyckx, K., Vignoles, V. (eds) Handbook of Identity Theory and Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_28

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