LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL DEVELOPMENT - THEORY, RESEARCH AND SOCIAL-ISSUES

Over the last 20 years there has been a marked increase in the number of published journal articles and books in the field of lesbian and ga y psychology and psychotherapy. Much of this work has focused upon the negative effect of living as a lesbian, gay or bisexual adult in a he terosexual world. Despite our increased awareness concerning the probl ems lesbians, gay men and bisexuals face in society, little is underst ood about the process of development from the realization of sexual or ientation through to identity formation and self-actualization. This a rticle draws together various strands of research on lesbian, gay and bisexual development and addresses some of the theoretical and concept ual issues which surround this area of psychology. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.