Human Development Across the Lifespan - Gender Identity Issues that Essay

Human Development Across the Lifespan - Gender Identity Issues that Adolescents May Face - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to focus on gender identity issues that adolescents face, and how they cope with them. Gender identity is defined as â€Å"the youngster’s internally perceived gender, regardless of chromosomal constitution, gonadal/ hormonal secretions, or genitalia† (Telingator & Daniolos, 2007: 79). Gender includes biological sex but is larger in scope, encompassing the socially prescribed roles which are considered appropriate for each sex, which are different in various cultures (Lee, 2005). Hence, gender role refers to culturally underwritten masculine and feminine behaviors, attitudes and personality traits which are based on biological factors as well as an individual’s environment. Aspects of sex-typed behavior in childhood, adolescence or in adulthood are affected by hormones that play a part very early in development, as early as age two or three, sometimes by age five or later (Sexson, 2005; Pescovitz & Eugster, 2004). At the core of adolescents’ development is the separation-individuation process by which adolescents become independent of their parents in a process similar to that which occurs during infancy. Children usually develop a gender identity which is in alignment with with their assigned sex, also known as their sex of rearing. The formation of gender identity is influenced by the combination of children’s temperament and parents’ qualities and attitudes. Culturally acceptable gender roles are learned stereotypical roles, by which boys are required to be masculine and girls to be feminine in their behavior and conduct. However, over the past few decades there has been increasing toleration for mild cross-gender activity in children (Sadock et al, 2007). â€Å"Sigmund Freud believed that gender identity problems resulted from conflicts experienced by children within the oedipal triangle† (Sadock et al, 2007: 718), which may be fueled by actual family