Puberty

Puberty is regarded as the central psycho-physiological process of the periods of adolescence and youth. Currently, there is no shortage of specialized literature (on anatomy and physiology, sexology, medical psychology of the family, etc.). The terms of the beginning and end of puberty, the forms of its course in boys and girls, boys and girls are variable and individual. Sex-role behavior depends on many factors: on the characteristics of physical and hormonal development, intellectual and emotional development, on psychosocial circumstances.
By what signs can we judge the behavior of adolescents and young men, corresponding to the sexual role? Interest in the opposite sex increases, specific psychosexual activities (masturbation, sex games, courtship) and secondary (contests and fights for boys, interest for clothes and household for girls) are carried out. We draw attention to the fact that adolescent girls are steadily ahead of boys in assimilating sexual roles. The emotional state is quite complicated: on the one hand, young men dream of love, create the image of an ideal lover without sexual content.
On the other hand, they are under the powerful pressure of an exceptional sexual group image. Dirty conversations, greasy jokes, pornographic pictures and videotapes, the heightened interest of teenagers and young people (and even younger schoolchildren at times) scares and jars on adults. However, it should be borne in mind that for children who are not psychologically and culturally prepared, this is probably the only way of “grounding” erotic and many other physical experiences that excite them, relieving emotional and physiological stress with group laughter. (Note that in the “laughter culture” of adults (as one of the components of sociocultural influence) there are a lot of sexual motives.)
The beginning of sexual life and the motives of schoolchildren are different. Common is the lack of matrimonial plans and intentions. With a range of evaluative judgments of this reality, it can be considered indisputable that the younger a teenager at the time of his first sexual relationship, the less in this sexual connection of love and the more chance, situational. And finally, important for teachers and parents is the information that the most difficult problem of psychosexual development and sex-role behavior in adolescence and youth is the formation of sexual orientation, i.e. systems of erotic preferences to a certain gender. It can develop towards:
• identification, which will lead to heterosexuality (attraction to people of the opposite sex);
• abnormalities leading to homosexuality (attraction to the person of the same sex), bisexuality (attraction to people of both sexes), transsexuality (reincarnation in the opposite sex) and even sexual offenses;
• ambivalence, which also leads to bisexuality or various violations of sexual behavior.
According to experts, sexual orientation is not the result of a person’s free choice, it’s difficult to change, and sometimes practically impossible. The development of harmonious heterosexual behavior affects a lot. Here are some negative factors:
a) the nature of the relationship of parents with the child (too close relations, obstacles to contact with peers and relationships with peers of the other sex, etc.);
b) personal characteristics (prevailing introversion, ascetic behavior, too strong intellectualization and possible identification with one of the parents); c) physical defects, peer rejection, etc.