Answering the Tough Questions About Homosexuality - Part 2

Q. If homosexuality is not genetic, what are the causes?

A. Individuals experience same-sex attractions for different reasons. While there are similarities in the patterns of development, each individual has a unique, personal history. In the histories of persons who experience same-sex attraction, one frequently finds one or more of the following:

· Alienation from the father in early childhood because the father was perceived as hostile or distant, violent or alcoholic.

· Mother was overprotective (boys).

· Mother was needy and demanding (boys).

· Mother emotionally unavailable (girls)

· Parents failed to encourage same-sex identification.

· Lack of rough and tumble play (boys).

· Failure to identify with same/sex peers.

· Dislike of team sports (boys).

· Lack of hand/eye coordination and resultant teasing by peers (boys).

· Sexual abuse or rape

· Social phobia or extreme shyness

· Parental loss through death or divorce

Separation from parent during critical developmental stages


In some cases, same-sex attraction or activity occurs in a patient with other psychological diagnosis, such as:

· major depression

· suicidal ideation

· generalized anxiety disorder

· substance abuse

· conduct disorder in adolescents · borderline personality disorder

· schizophrenia

· pathological narcissism

In a few cases, homosexual behavior appears later in life as a response to a trauma such as abortion, or profound loneliness .

Q. What are the warning signs that a child is at risk for developing same-sex attraction?

A. At risk children often have few friends of the same sex, a limited bond with same sex peers, or lack a close father/son relationship. They may exhibit symptoms of Gender Identity Disorder (GID), which include gender identification with the opposite sex, cross-dressing, discomfort with their own sex, and social anxiety. If untreated, approximately 75% of males with GID may go on to develop same-sex attractions. (Zucker, K et. al. Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Childhood and Adolescence, N.Y. Guilford, 1995).
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