Somali Medical Forums

Diseases and Conditions => Cudurrada Maskaxda => Topic started by: Yaxya on March 16, 2008, 06:42:57 AM

Title: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Yaxya on March 16, 2008, 06:42:57 AM
By no means is sexual orientation genetically determined but clearly genes are playing some role by interacting with a range of environmental factors.
At the present time, there is no uniformly accepted theory of why some men and some women develop a sexual orientation that is more or less exclusively focused on members of their own sex.
Most contemporary researchers believe that sexual orientation – the general disposition of people toward homosexuality, bisexuality, or heterosexuality – is the result of both biological factors and psychological experiences. Most researchers do not believe that sexual orientation is the result of nature (biology, including genetics) alone or nurture (environment) alone. What researchers want to know is how specific factors in biology and psychology interact to guide sexual development. These researchers therefore look for biological and psychological differences between homosexual and heterosexual people, both men and women.
MY qustion to the all members is :what are the psychological factors or the enviromental factors that drive the males to be homosexuals?


Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Mustafa on March 16, 2008, 06:39:48 PM

Assalam Aleikum brother Yahya,
After having searched intensively about the matter you have put forward, if we only adhere to answering merely to your specific question and putting aside the islamic point of view as well as the judo-christianity, I refer to many passages from well documented articles;

Recent political pressure has resulted in a denial of the importance of the factor most strongly implicated by decades of previous clinical research: developmental factors, particularly the influence of parents. A review of the literature on male homosexuality reveals extensive reference to the prehomosexual boy’s relational problems with both parents (West 1959, Socarides 1978, Evans 1969); among some researchers, the father-son relationship has been particularly implicated (Bieber et al 1962, Moberly 1983). (http://www.narth.com/docs/fathers.html).

One psychoanalytic hypothesis for the connection between poor early father-son relationship and homosexuality is that during the critical gender-identity phase of development, the boy perceives the father as rejecting. As a result, he grows up failing to fully identify with his father and the masculinity he represents.

Non-masculine or feminine behavior in boyhood has been repeatedly shown to be correlated with later homosexuality (Green, 1987, Zuger, 1988); taken together with related factors, particularly the often-reported alienation from same-sex peers and a poor relationship with the father, this suggests a failure to fully gender-identify. In its more extreme form, this same syndrome (usually resulting in homosexuality) is diagnosed as Childhood Gender-Identity Deficit (Zucker and Bradley, 1996).

One likely cause for “failure to identify” is a narcissistic injury inflicted by the father onto the son (who is usually temperamentally sensitive) during the preoedipal stage of the boy’s development. This hurt appears to have been inflicted during the critical gender-identity phase when the boy must undertake the task of assuming a masculine identification. The hurt manifests itself as a defensive detachment from masculinity in the self, and in others. As an adult, the homosexual is often characterized by this complex which takes the form of “the hurt little boy” (Nicolosi, 1991). (http://www.narth.com/docs/fathers.html)

As previously mentioned, the person’s own interpretations of his childhood are a matter of importance in the development of his sexual orientation.

Homosexuality is almost certainly due to multiple factors and cannot be reduced solely to a faulty father-son relationship. Fathers of homosexual sons are usually also fathers of heterosexual sons-so the personality of the father is clearly not the sole cause of homosexuality….

Other factors in the development of homosexuality include a hostile, feared older brother; a mother who is a very warm and attractive personality and proves more appealing to the boy than an emotionally removed father; a mother who is actively disdainful of masculinity; childhood seduction by another male; peer labeling of the boy due to poor athletic ability or timidity; in recent years, cultural factors encouraging a confused and uncertain youngster into an embracing gay community; and in the boy himself, a particularly sensitive, relatively fragile, often passive disposition. (http://www.narth.com/docs/fathers.html)

A recently completed doctoral dissertation by Gregory Dickson, Ph.D. found statistically significant differences between the childhood recollections of heterosexual and homosexual men. The dissertation was entitled An Empirical Study of the Mother-Son Dyad in Relation to the Development of Adult Male Homosexuality: An Object Relations Perspective.

A total of 135 men were surveyed-57 egodystonic homosexuals, 34 egosyntonic homosexuals, and 44 heterosexuals from various parts of the U.S. Utilizing the Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire (PCR-II; Siegelman & Roe, 1979), the study found that heterosexual males recalled a much better relationship with their mothers. These men reported a significantly more loving, less demanding, and less rejecting mother than did homosexual males.

The study further found that male homosexuals reported significantly higher levels of current depression, as well as significantly higher levels of childhood sexual abuse than their heterosexual peers.

Commenting on the findings, Dr. Dickson stated:

A cursory review of research to date suggests a lack of uniform findings on the role of the mother-son relationship in the development of male homosexuality. Some authors have found a close, overly protective mother, while others have found the opposite a less loving, more demanding, and more rejecting mother. While these results are seemingly contradictory, further investigation reveals an underlying consistency, in that the homosexual male has repeatedly reported a significantly different relationship with his mother than that reported by his heterosexual peers. Whether he reported her as overly close or distant, a negative relational pattern is apparent.

…It is reasonable to assume that either type of relationship (overly close or distant) may negatively impact the developing boy's ability to complete the necessary steps leading toward the accomplishment of the developmental tasks of individuation and separation. The overly close and binding relationship with the mother may prevent the young boy from "abandoning" her in order to join his father and his male peers. Likewise, the overly distant relationship may not allow him to feel secure enough in the mother's love to leave it in order to explore peer relationships with other boys.

Findings of this study and of Dickson (1996) also support findings in the literature, which suggest that the adult male homosexual has experienced a greater dissimilarity of relationships between his mother and father during his developmental years than did his heterosexual peers. The current study drew upon previous literature regarding the healthy early triangulation in which the boy is able to develop both a sense of connectedness to, and distance from, both parents. "A lack of this healthy triangulation," stated Dr. Dickson, "may result in the developing boy finding himself 'stuck' between parents. He must choose one parent over the other. It appears that this phenomenon is present and much more extreme in homosexual development."

Furthermore, the study sheds light on the potential relationship of a history of sexual abuse and the development of adult male homosexuality. An alarming 49% of homosexuals surveyed, compared to less than 2% of heterosexuals, reported sexual abuse.

Results of this study underscore the importance of a need for increased understanding of the effects of sexual abuse in the development of adult male homosexuality. Dr. Dickson's findings are congruent with those of Finkelhor (1984) which found that boys victimized by older men were four times more likely to be currently involved in homosexuality than were non-victims. All of the respondents in Dr. Dickson's study reported their molestation as having occurred by a male perpetrator; none reported female abusers. This finding, perhaps one of the most significant of Dr. Dickson's study, suggests that sexual abuse should be considered in evaluating etiologic factors contributing to the development of adult male homosexuality. Dickson stated, "An experience of sexual abuse could possibly contribute to the sexualizing of the unmet needs for male affection, attention, and connection."

Commenting on the abuse factor, Dr. Dickson stated:

It is possible that the male child who experiences the negative relational pattern with his mother along with the less present and negatively perceived father becomes more susceptible to the perpetrator's advances. Given the relational deficits experienced by the male child, it is also possible that the molestation, as devastating as it may have been emotionally, simultaneously may be experienced by some of the boys as their first form of adult male affection, as well as something relational that is not shared in common with his mother. The abuse could, theoretically, be perceived by the boy as a facilitation of some form of separation-individuation between himself and mother.

…It is also reasonable to assume that the sense of shame, secrecy, violation and anger which may result from childhood sexual abuse contributes to the development of a distorted paradigm through which the child views subsequent relationships with self and others. The duty of the parent to protect the child from all harm, as understood by the child, may be perceived as having been forsaken. If the abuse is left unresolved, subsequent parental behaviors may be experienced in a more negative way by the child and later, the adult. Additionally, the established negative relational pattern present in the family may impede the child's ability to look to his parents for assistance in resolving the pain resulting from the molestation.

The multifaceted approach of Dr. Dickson's study helps to clarify some of the previous literature's apparent contradictions about potential contributing factors in the development of male homosexuality. His study underscores the significance of the influence of multiple environmental factors in the development of adult male homosexuality. It further emphasizes the complex, often subliminal, yet powerful forces of not only the childhood mother-son and father-son relationships, but the childhood experience of sexual abuse as all of these factors relate to the development of the child's sense of self, including gender identification and future relational choices.

Pop culture and political rhetoric suggest that it is society's lack of acceptance that is solely responsible for pathology associated with homosexuality. Such a simplistic conclusion ignores homosexuals' repeated reports in psychology literature of conflicted parental relationships, as well as other important issues such as sexual abuse.

Dr. Dickson stated, "The current study, in concert with past literature, suggests that the issues surrounding committed adult homosexual identification may be more core structural and relational, rather than sexual in nature."

He concluded:

Recent investigation of homosexuality has been hindered by the American Psychological and Psychiatric Associations' philosophical shift, which fails to consider the role of environmental factors in the development of male homosexuality. The clearly complex nature of the issue should not be oversimplified, nor should scientific exploration be limited by politics. (http://www.narth.com/docs/mothersof.html)

Another factor that may be involved in the development of a homosexual personality might result from the ever-present argument in homosexual-accepting cultures of “Be what you are, and don’t be ashamed of it”. Many youths then start to experiment to “discover” what they really are. This experimentation may lead to an entrapment and cessation of normal sexual development. The youth, who is at an age in which there exists a normal idealization of same-sex peers, might develop an incapability to further progress to a heterosexual relationship due to the fact that he has been convinced that he is a homosexual. This indulging in homosexual relationships, with time, will trap him in a sexual habit pattern. Thus, the danger of sexual experimentation at a young age. Teenagers must be made aware that homosexual attractions do not necessarily make one a homosexual.

Psychiatrist Jeffrey Satinover, M.D states:

Like all complex behavioral and mental states, homosexuality is…neither exclusively biological nor exclusively psychological, but results from an as-yet-difficult-to-quantitate mixture of genetic factors, intrauterine influences…postnatal environment (such as parent, sibling and cultural behavior), and a complex series of repeatedly reinforced choices occurring at critical phases of development. (Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth (1996)).

The American Psychological Association says:

Various theories have proposed differing sources for sexual orientation.…However, many scientists share the view that sexual orientation is shaped for most people at an early age through complex interactions of biological, psychological and social factors. (From the APA’s booklet, “Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality”)

The national organization PFLAG offers a booklet prepared with the assistance of Dr. Clinton Anderson of the American Psychological Association. Entitled, “Why Ask Why? Addressing the Research on Homosexuality and Biology,” the pamphlet says:

To date, no researcher has claimed that genes can determine sexual orientation. At best, researchers believe that there may be a genetic component. No human behavior, let alone sexual behavior, has been connected to genetic markers to date.…Sexuality, like every other behavior, is undoubtedly influenced by both biological and societal factors.

please do not hesitate to comment or to criticize.


Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Yaxya on March 16, 2008, 11:35:56 PM
thanx mustfa.... from ur massege i got that some factors like (the relation between the son and his parents and whether the son have had sexual abuse in his childhood or not)will drive him to be homosexual in the future..another question:can we consider homosexuality as a pyschatric illness or not?if yes can we treat?if no then what is it?
Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Mustafa on March 17, 2008, 02:22:17 PM
Assalam Yahya,

Whether it is a psychiatric illness or not; it is outlined in great detail in my first response.
please verify what you mean with "if yes, then what is the treatment and if not then what is it?" I would like to refrain to speculate the possible suggestion of the latter therefore my request for defining your quest.
From the Abrahamic faiths' perspective in dealing with this matter is standfast and crystall clear.



 
Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Abdullahi! on March 18, 2008, 06:43:13 PM

Islam does not accept any type of justification for the unnatural sin of homosexuality regardless of any biological, psychological or environmental factors which may influence a man to indulge in this type of grossly unnatural immorality. This should not be interpreted to mean that Islam does not recognize the reality or validity of the existence of the various factors which influence man to commit homosexuality. However, the presence of any destructive influences which lead man towards this unnatural and bestial act of immorality does not constitute a valid excuse for indulgence in acts of deviation and inhumanity. Just as fornication, rape and other criminal acts of immorality cannot be condoned because of biological, psychological, and environmental factors, etc, which may be the causes for the crime, so too, can these factors not be cited in favour of diminished blame for the act of homosexuality. In spite of the existence of the factors (described as causes or precipitating factors mentioned above) of adultery, human culture does not permit man and woman to indulge in this crime notwithstanding the naturalness of heterosexuality. They are required to restrain themselves and behave within the bounds of chastity and morality.

In simple words, the treatment for homosexuality, whether it is a psychiatric illness or not, is clear in our religion.

For further clarification on the Islamic view on this issue please follow this link.

http://abdurrahman.org/character/sodomy.html

Thanks for focusing our attention on this commonly misunderstood topic.

Abdullahi!
Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Yaxya on March 19, 2008, 05:53:42 AM
thanx bro abdulahi for ur usefull post and usefull link.acutally homosexulity is not common in muslim societies because of our religion and my question foucsed western communities where this issue is common.
Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Abdullahi! on March 19, 2008, 02:39:22 PM
According to western communities and in medical terms:

"Psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals agree that homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder or an emotional problem. Over 35 years of objective, well-designed scientific research has shown that homosexuality, in and itself,is not associated with mental disorders or emotional or social problems. Homosexuality was once thought to be a mental illness because mental health professionals and society had biased information. In the past the studies of gay, lesbian and bisexual people involved only those in therapy, thus biasing the resulting conclusions. When researchers examined data about these people who were not in therapy, the idea that homosexuality was a mental illness was quickly found to be untrue.

In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association confirmed the importance of the new, better designed research and removed homosexuality from the official manual that lists mental and emotional disorders. Two years later, the American Psychological Association passed a resolution supporting the removal. For more than 25 years, both associations have urged all mental health professionals to help dispel the stigma of mental illness that some people still associate with homosexual orientation."

Qouted from American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html

Dear Yaxye we all know that punishing people due to diseases isn't part of Islam. Therefore if Islam has punished homosexuals we can certainly be sure that there is no psychological problem with them, and that it is only due to them. Besides that homosexuality is not a newly discovered problem but has been present for centuries since the early tribe of Luut.

Abdullahi!
Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Yaxya on March 24, 2008, 06:50:11 AM
thanks abdulhi for this usefull information jazaka alaah kula al khyr,although you are in pre-clinic but u r active in all boards in this forum i hope u will be a good doctor in the future inshalaah
Title: Re: Homosexualtiy is genetic or acqired?!!
Post by: Abdullahi! on March 25, 2008, 07:40:23 PM
You are welcome and I wish the same for you too.

Thanks