These can reflect homophobic attitudes expressed by others as well as internalized feelings of self-hatred, write Drs. James Lock and Brian N. Kleis. Lock, of Stanford University School of Medicine, and Kleis, of Children's Health Council, Palo Alto, California, discuss teens and homophobia in an article in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Young adolescents, especially boys, are concerned about the physical changes of puberty and may develop homophobia in association with anxiety about their masculinity. At this age, teenagers may need nothing more than information about sexual development, anatomy, and behavior.
Older adolescents are more independent of their families and more interested in peer support groups.