Issues/Strengths/Challenges What does it mean to be gay? "I never had any real attraction towards women, but I really knew that I was gay when puberty began. I felt an attraction toward the other boys and I was curious to find out what they were like." P.J. Smith (Personal communication, November 2...

In the novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D. H. Lawrence, the author took a different view of the relationship between the two sexes than was generally discussed before in novels. The themes, descriptions and words he used were highly controversial at the time it was written, causing its first...

Becoming a member of a peer group is one of the immediate effects of adolescence. Peer groups influence adolescent society and identity by allowing young people to explore individual interests and uncertainties while retaining a sense of belonging and rank within a group of friends. There may be cos...

March 25 - Marie started her period today!! I can't believe it, she is only nine. This cannot be natural. I have always noticed that her body developed faster than most of her friends but I never thought this would happen. She is very confused. At nine she is just starting to brush her hair wit...

Many theories and much research has been conducted on contraception in general, and more recently on condoms in particular, as a result of the AIDS epidemic (Lear, 1995). Condom usage and AIDS education are essential tools for reducing the impact of the disease, yet fewer than one third of sexu...