[Intersexuality in childhood].
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Adolescents' movements toward individuation are believed to be supported by secure attachments to parents. Previous research has found that individuation could be operationalized with indices of connectedness and separateness, but the relationship between these variables has not been fully explored. The present study demonstrated that attachment and differentiation variables were positively related using different and multiple operationalization procedures. Furthermore, a more comprehensive model of adolescent ego development was proposed which included parental control, individuation, and ego identity constructs. Results suggest parental control restricts successful individuation, but that adjustment on individuation indices predicts advanced identity development.
Sexuality is an important aspect of the lives of all human beings, including children and adolescents. The clinician can provide important guidance to pediatric patients and their parents regarding the healthy development of sexuality. Counseling techniques are important, including the "helping skill" model, in which the clinician can state the problem, identify options for the patient, identify consequences of each option, help the patient make a plan, and develop a plan for check back and follow-up.
Male primates exhibit marked elevation of circulating testosterone levels during the early postnatal period. The aim of this project was to test whether experimental manipulation of circulating testosterone levels in male and female infant rhesus monkeys affected development of the external genitalia during the first six months of life. Four groups of infants were studied. Seven control male infants exhibited high circulating testosterone levels during the first three months of life. Seven males were treated with a GnRH agonist (avorelin) from the first week of life onwards, which suppressed the postnatal testosterone surge. Ten control females exhibited low circulating testosterone levels during the early postnatal period. Administration of testosterone to 10 females resulted in high circulating levels in these infants. Fortnightly blood samples and genital measurements were taken from all infants during the first six months of life. Growth of the penis of avorelin-treated males was significantly retarded when compared to control males. Average length of the penis at six months of age was significantly (p = 0.012) smaller for avorelin-treated males (25.2 +/- 2.8 mm) than for control males (37.3 +/- 3.0 mm). Avorelin-treated males attained only around 50% detachment of the prepuce from the glans of the penis, while control males averaged 90% detachment. Treatment of females with testosterone resulted in significant growth of the clitoris in comparison to control females. The growth rates of the penis of control males and clitorides of testosterone-treated females were similar and greatest during the first two months of life. Gain in body weight was not affected by either hormonal manipulation. It is concluded that manipulation of circulating testosterone levels during the early postnatal period affects penile and clitoral development of infant rhesus monkeys. This postnatal period may therefore represent an important stage in penile development in primates.
By comparing the in-patient and out-patient psychotherapeutic treatment of a patient with encopresis in early adolescence the authors develop a psychoanalytical understanding of the psychotherapeutic effects which the different settings have on the patient and his parents. In the authors' opinion both forms of therapy supplement each other and promote the patient's development during the course of treatment.
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Psychoanalytic advances have led to refinement and reformulation of early models of female personality development. Masochism was taken as a point of departure for a study of the psychology of women and earlier hypotheses of a masochistic and inferior female psychic structure. Masochism is a residue of unresolved infantile conflict and is neither essentially feminine nor a valuable component of mature female function and character. Though the female might be more predisposed to masochism, there is no evidence of particular female pleasure in pain. It is important to distinguish between masochistic suffering as a goal in itself, and tolerance for a discomfort or deprivation in the service of the ego or ego ideal. Initial hypotheses of a diminished female libido, ego tendencies toward arrest and rigidity, relative inability to sublimate, and a deficient superego are incomplete and obsolete theoretical propositions. The female ego and superego are different from but not inferior to the male. Female development cannot be described in a simple reductionism and overgeneralization. Femininity cannot be predominantly derived from a primary masculinity, disappointed maleness, masochistic resignation to fantasied inferiority, or compensation for fantasied castration and narcissistic injury. Castration reactions and penis envy contribute to feminine character, but penis envy is not the major determinant of femininity. Penis envy variously impedes and fosters femininity but penis envy is more closely related to the girl's bisexual masculinity. The female Oedipus complex is central to feminine development, but has significant normative roots in primary and positive feminine identifications and individuation. Contemporary contributions to the psychology of women have emphasized concepts of gender and sexual identity, body image and self-representation, psychosexual response and empathic motherliness, etc. The female superego includes an ego ideal with feminine ideals and values and regulates feminine interests. The maternal ego ideal consolidates overdetermined maternal attitudes, guides the formation and integration of maternal attitudes, and directs the developmental achievement of "the ordinary devoted mother." Conflicts between the maternal ego ideal and infanticidal impulses are ubiquitous and clinically significant. Current theoretical amendments conceptualize mature female autonomy, pride, and self-esteem. Female creativity may be exemplified in many and new forms in addition to motherhood. The capacity to sublimate and to foster sublimation in children is a prerequisite for normal motherhood. Femininity evolves under the influence of parents and culture, with unique developmental challenges and transformations, and a universal psychobiological core linked to functions and roles that should be neither idealized nor devalued.
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This study examined the relationship between self-esteem in adolescence and later risky sexual behavior and pregnancy in late adolescence and early adulthood. The investigation analyzed data from a birth cohort of over 1,000 New Zealand young adults studied to the age of 25. Lower levels of self-esteem at age 15 were associated with greater risks of engaging in unprotected sex (sexual intercourse with either an opposite- or same-sex partner without using a condom), a greater number of sexual partners, and a greater risk of pregnancy at ages 15-25. Adjustment for potentially confounding factors, including family socioeconomic background, family functioning, child abuse, and individual characteristics and behavior, reduced the strength of these associations to statistically non-significant levels. It was concluded that the effects of self-esteem during adolescence on later risky sexual behavior and pregnancy were weak and largely explained by the psychosocial context within which self-esteem develops.
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This article reports on two studies designed to measure 4- to 7-year-old children's knowledge about babies and its relationship to gender role development. In Study 1, children were asked several questions about babies and were given the Sex Role Learning Index (SERLI; Edelbrock & Sugawara, 1978). Girls provided more answers to one question, and children with younger siblings provided more answers to another. Overall, however, there were few relationships between knowledge about babies and gender role development. The second study measured knowledge about babies with two measures. The first measure asked children to identify foods that babies could eat and activities babies were capable of doing. The second measure asked children to identify the names and uses of certain objects. Older children scored higher on the foods and activities measure. Children who had younger siblings performed better on the objects measure. Gender and gender role development showed little relationship to knowledge about babies.