Sexual identity of girls and boys of younger adolescence

Abstract

The subject of the study is the cognitive, emotional and behavioral components of the sexual identity of girls and boys of younger adolescence. The aim of the study was to study the content characteristics of the cognitive, emotional and behavioral components of the sexual identity of girls and boys of younger adolescence and to identify the relationship between these structural components. The author analyzes in detail the features of the sexual identity of girls and boys of younger adolescence. Sexual identity is a complex dynamic structure that begins its formation in early childhood, and by adolescence, due to the psychological characteristics of this period, reaches a new, significant level, which determines the need for its detailed study in this age period. Research methodology: L.S. Vygotsky's cultural and historical theory of human mental development, D.B. Elkonin's age periodization, conceptual positions and main provisions in the study of sexual problems of domestic and foreign psychologists V.E. Kagan, I.S. Kletsina, N.Y. Flotskaya, etc.The empirical base of the study is represented by 30 teenage girls and 30 boys from full families. The age of the participants was 12-13 years.For the first time, the existence of differences in qualitative and quantitative indicators determining the structure of the sexual identity of girls and boys of younger adolescence is theoretically substantiated and empirically proven. Adolescents of both sexes do not have difficulties with building a sex-and-age sequence and identifying their present sex-and-age status, adequately identify themselves according to gender and age. Teenage girls correspond to gender stereotypes to a greater extent than boys. Girls and boys are characterized by the perception of parental influence as inconsistent, unstable and generally incomprehensible to a teenager. The behavioral component of the sexual identity of younger adolescents of both sexes is characterized by uncertainty, undifferentiation, and a combination of both feminine and masculine qualities in behavior.