In 1973, homosexuality was removed from the DSM-III and is therefore no longer considered an illness (Berg-Kelly, 2003), but there are many theories that try to explain the cause. One relevant to Samantha's background was related to child abuse, as researchers explored its correlation with homosexual orientation. One study (Balsam, Rothblum & Beauchaine, 2005) found that LGB identities reported more childhood sexual abuse than heterosexuals. They admit uncertainty about what factors link childhood sexual abuse to homosexual orientation and speak of public and political concern to determine causality. Would the world feel more comfortable with homosexuality if it knew what caused it? Child abuse, like that experienced by Samantha and discovered in other girls she has met, is an important and common factor for many homosexuals, but it has not yet been confirmed to be a cause of homosexuality. While it might elicit acceptance and understanding if demonstrated, it will not erase the stigma, in the same way that becoming disabled due to a car accident still implies being disabled and becoming part of a minority group. K Berg (2003) comments that adopting the same marginalizing attitude -Sexual orientation is not easy for adolescents. This implies different paths in the “coming out” process, as various theories try to explain the phases. The homosexual identity development model (Lesser & Pope, 2010), helps describe the stages Samantha went through: Sensitization, or feeling different when she began to see herself as asexual like some plants; Self-recognition, or identity confusion with his “uncomfortable attraction” towards Angelina-Jolie; The assumption of identity occurred when she recognized her lesbianism during a writing exercise at school; and finally Commitment to...... middle of paper......disputes. Sage.- Hall, N. (2013) Hate crimes. Revised edition. Routledge-Herrenkohl, T. I, Lee, J. O et al (2012). Family influences related to adult substance use and mental health problems: A developmental analysis of child and adolescent predictors. Journal Adolescent Health, (51), 129-135. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.64- Lesser, J.G. & Pope, D.S. (2010) Human Behavior and Social Environment Theory and Practice, (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.- St. Cyr, J.L. and Decker , S. H. (2003). Girls, boys, and gangs: Convergence of divergence in the gender construction of gangs and groups. Journal of Criminal Justice, 31, 423-33 DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2352(03)00048-5- Roseborough, D. (2003). Conceptions of development across the gay male life span: Past and present. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 8(2/3) 29-53. DOI: 10.1300/J137v08n02_03