Same Sex Attractions

Out of the five statements given about this topic, the one statement that stands out as an assumption rather than an inference or observation is statement number three “Parents are seldom the people an adolescent tells about his or her same-sex attractions”. The reason this is the assumption is because while Santrock touches on this subject by mentioning that adolescents with same-sex attractions reported less positive experiences with their parents than people who are heterosexual, he didn’t mention that they don’t tell them (203). He also talks about a study that shows that family rejection of coming out as a sexual minority was linked to higher rates of depression, substance use and unprotected sex among adolescents (qtd. In Santrock. 204). By doing those two …show more content…
That also backs up statement number two “Today, it is more acceptable to view sexual orientation as a continuum from exclusive heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality”. Santrock further explains that up until the middle of the twentieth century it was thought that people were either heterosexual or homosexual, and that there has been a move away from the term “homosexual” because of the history of negative connotations (201). Santrock goes on to explain how individuals who have same sex attractions and behaviors identify as members of a sexual minority or bisexual which means you have attractions and behaviors toward both genders. This explains that in our modern era it is more acceptable to view sexual orientation in ways besides just heterosexuality or