Using 6-year longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and multiple measures of puberty as it occurs and of sexual orientation (romantic attraction, sexual identity), the present study attempted to replicate previous research which reported that homosexuals and heterosexuals differed in their age of pubertal onset. The study hypotheses were not confirmed for either males or females: on most pubertal measures, same-sex oriented groupings did not differ from heterosexuals. The only significant findings regarding homosexual males indicated that they were more likely to report having a later rather than an earlier onset of puberty, and the significant findings regarding homosexual females were contradictory—they tended to have an earlier onset of puberty. These findings are attributed to methodological improvements in the present study that reduced retrospective bias, used multiple indicators of sexual orientation and puberty timing, and assessed less eroticized measures of puberty.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Archibald, A. B., Graber, J. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). Pubertal process and physiological growth in adolescence. In G. R. Adams & M. D. Berzonsky (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 24–47). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Bell, A. P., Weinberg, M. S., & Hammersmith, S. K. (1981). Sexual preference: Its development in men and women. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Bogaert, A. F., Friesen, C., & Klentrou, P. (2002). Age of puberty and sexual orientation in a national probability sample. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 73–81.
Cohen, K. M. (1999). The biology of male sexual orientation: Relationship among homoeroticism, childhood sex-atypical behavior, spatial ability, handedness, and pubertal timing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI.
Coleman, L., & Coleman, J. (2002). The measurement of puberty: A review. Journal of Adolescence, 25, 535–550.
Eveleth, P., & Tanner, J. M. (1990). Worldwide variation in human growth (2ne ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gilger, J. W., Geary, D. C., & Eisele, L. M. (1991). Reliability and validity of retrospective self-reports of the age of pubertal onset using twin, sibling, and college student data. Adolescence, 26, 41–53.
Katchadourian, H. (1977). The biology of adolescence. San Francisco, CA: Freeman.
Katchadourian, H. (1990). Sexuality. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 330–351). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Mustanski, B. S., Chivers, M. L., & Bailey, J. M. (2002). A critical review of recent biological research on human sexual orientation. Annual Review of Sex Research, 13, 89–140.
Pattatucci, A. M. L., & Hamer, D. H. (1995). Development and familiality of sexual orientation in females. Behavior Genetics, 25, 407–420.
Rahman, Q., & Wilson, G. D. (2003). Born gay? The psychobiology of human sexual orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 1337–1382.
Savin-Williams, R. C. (1995). An exploratory study of pubertal maturation timing and self-esteem among gay and bisexual male youths. Developmental Psychology, 31, 56– 64.
Savin-Williams, R. C., & Ream, G. L. (2006). Prevalence and stability of sexual orientation during adolescence and young adulthood. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Schlossberger, N. M., Turner, R. A., & Irwin, C. E. (1992). Validity of self-report of pubertal maturation in early adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 13, 109–113.
Schmidt, G. (1997, December 21). Hamburg student study 1966–1981–1996. Retrieved from sexnet@listserve.acns.nwu.edu.
Tenhula, W. N., & Bailey, J. M. (1998). Female sexual orientation and pubertal onset. Developmental Neuropsychology, 14, 369–383.
Udry, J. R., & Bearman, P. S. (1998a). The national longitudinal study of adolescent health. Retrieved April 30, 2003, from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth.
Udry, J. R., & Bearman, P. S. (1998b). New methods for new research on adolescent sexual behavior. In R. Jessor (Ed.), New perspectives on adolescent risk behavior (pp. 241–269). New York: Cambridge University Press.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research used data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516-2524 (www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth/contract.html)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Savin-Williams, R.C., Ream, G.L. Pubertal Onset and Sexual Orientation in an Adolescent National Probability Sample. Arch Sex Behav 35, 279–286 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9032-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9032-8