This study drew its data from research conducted by Savin-Williams (1997), a Cornell University psychologist who interviewed two samples of young adult gay and bisexual males to examine gay /bisexual identity development. Some of the data were obtained directly from Savin- Williams; other data were obtained from his 1997 report summarizing this research. Savin- Williams employed an interpretive interview approach, in which he requested his subjects to ground their memories in specific details during face-to-face interviews and to tell "their own story" (p. 11). He argued, citing supporting methodological research (Kessler and Wethington, 1991; Ross, 1984), that this technique, along with the fact that subjects were genera1ly only several years or months removed from important developmental sexual experiences or milestones, added to the validity of the results.

Savin-Williams' focus when examining the first sample was exploring the role that sexual behavior during childhood and adolescence plays in forming a gay or bisexual identity. In accordance, he asked subjects about all sexual relations they had prior to graduating from high school. Thus, it was possible to divide this sample into a control and an ADSR group. For his second sample, his goa1s changed in that sexua1 behavior per se was not a chief focus. Accordingly, he asked these subjects only about their first sexua1 experience and their first romantic experience. As such, although Sample 2 can be divided into a control and an ADSR group, the control group cannot be considered as pure in that it likely contained a small subset of subjects who experienced ADSR.

In the current study, Sample 1, because of its clear separation of control and ADSR subjects, was used as the primary basis for assessing the relationship between ADSR and psychological adjustment. As a secondary means of assessing this relationship, Sample 2 was employed, with the caveat that interpretation of its results must be seen as tentative because its control group likely contained several ADSR subjects. ADSR subjects from both samples were used to evaluate how gay/bisexual boys react to ADSRs.

Subjects were recruited through announcements made in appropriate classes at Cornell University and other local colleges, posters and flyers put on campus bulletin boards and distributed at relevant local establishments (e.g., local bar, bookstore, cafe ), and advertisements placed in local gay newsletters and Internet list-serves. Many subjects volunteered based on word-of-mouth information from subjects who had already participated. The study was described to prospective it subjects as an attempt to understand the ways gay and bisexua1 men come to recognize their sexual identity during childhood and adolescence.

Sample 1

The first sample consisted of 43 male subjects, with a mean age of 21 (SD = 1.4) and a range from 17 yo 23. Most of these subjects were white (91%). Their religions were (a) 27% Protestant, (b) 22% Jewish, (c) 17% Catholic, and (d) 34% none. Only 16% came from urban settings; 38% came from small cities, medium towns, or suburbs; nearly half (47%) came from small towns, rural communities, or farms. Subjects' mean Kinsey rating (on a scale from 0 to 6, where 6 indicates exclusively homosexual) was 5.49 (SD = .94): 70% were exclusively homosexual, 16% were mainly homosexual with a small degree of heterosexual interest, and the remaining 14% had substantial interest in both sexes. Thirteen (30%) of the 43 subjects had ADSR experiences, all of which occurred between ages 12 and 17.

Sample 2

The second sample consisted of 86 subjects, with a mean age of 21.3 (SD = 2.2) and a range from 17 to 25. Most subjects were White (72%). Their religions were (a) 13% Protestant, (b) 21% Jewish, (c) 24% Catholic, (d) 4% other, and (e) 37% none. Twenty nine percent came from urban settings; 37% came from smal1 cities, medium towns, or suburbs; 35% came from sma11 towns, rura1 communities, or farms. Their mean Kinsey rating was 5.45 (SD = .90): 66% were exclusively homosexual, 19% were mainly homosexual with a small degree of heterosexual interest, and the remaining 13% had substantial interest in both sexes. The only demographic variable that differed significantly between samples 1 and 2 was ethnicity: the first sample was less ethnically diverse, containing a greater proportion of wh1tes (91% ) than did the second sample (72%), X² (1, N = 129) = 5.84, p < .02, effect size r = .21. Thirteen of 86 subjects were identified as having experienced ADSR, all of which occurred between ages 12 and 17, as in Sample 1. 

No statistically significant differences emerged between ADSR and control subjects in their demographics. The 26 ADSR-identified subjects from the two samples had a mean age of 20.8 (SD = 2.6) and a range from 17 to 25. Most were White (85% ); 8% were Black and 4% each were Latino and Asian. Fifteen percent were Protestant, 19% Jewish, 27% Catholic, and 38% had no religious affiliation. Almost a third each came from urban communities (31% ) or small cities, medium towns, or suburbs (31%); 38% came from small towns, rura1 communities, or farms. Their mean Kinsey rating was 5.46 (SD = 1.03), with 69% exclusively homosexual, 19% mainly homosexual with a small degree of heterosexual interest, and 12% with substantia1 interest in both sexes.