| latency phase | |
noun | |
| (psychoanalysis) the fourth period (from about age 5 or 6 until puberty) during which sexual interests are supposed to be sublimated into other activities [syn: latency stage] |
latency phase n.
In psychoanalytic theory, the stage in psychosexual development, extending from about age 5 to age 12, when overt sexual interest is repressed or subliminated and an individual focuses on skills and activities with members of his or her own sex. Also called latency, latency period.