TABLE IV.

Concerns About Sexual Development And Function

	Sexual Development and Function
Childhood (Ages 7–13) n=7+8 parents	A small number of parents anticipated sexual development as a future concern. One 4th grader had already begun to think about and discuss figure development, as many of her classmates had already undergone puberty.
Adolescence (Ages 14–19) n=18+10 parents	Sexual development was a concern during adolescence. Some girls felt different/“not normal” because they had not gone through puberty. “Sometimes…you feel like you’re a little girl…because I’m short and, you know, the development, I mean, you feel like you’re not normal to some degree.” (Age 18). A minority of adults and mature adults reflecting on their past expressed feeling less feminine due to their lack of sexual maturity.
Adulthood (Ages 20–39) n=39	Sexual development did not seem to concern adult participants beyond their adolescent experiences. Women concerned about dating worried that their height or their infertility would cause men to reject them, not their underdeveloped figure.
Mature Adulthood (Ages 40–59) n=29	The few comments regarding sexuality beyond adolescent memories addressed both psychological and physical difficulties with sex. “… he doesn’t understand where I come from as far as, you know, why I don’t think sex is important to me, or I don’t put that priority on my list, saying that I have to do it all the time. To me, it’s not a sign of love. That’s because--well, maybe if I was able to have children, I’d probably feel totally different, because there’d be a reason for having it, because I love that man and I want his children.” (Age 40)