Sexual unfolding

The development of sexuality during adolescence is a complicated and often confusing process. This article presents a conceptualization of this process: "sexual unfolding". The concept is based on observations made during individual interviews with over 4000 Yale University students during the past 11 years. Nine steps are identified in the sexual unfolding of a person growing from a child in the family to an adult bonding to another adult in a sexually intimate relationship.