latency phase
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.
Related to latency phase: latent stage
la·ten·cy phase
in psychoanalytic personality theory, the period of psychosexual development in children, extending from about age 5 to the beginning of adolescence at age 12, during which the apparent cessation of sexual preoccupation stems from a strong, aggressive blockade of libidinal and sexual impulses in an effort to avoid oedipal relationships; during this phase, boys and girls are inclined to choose friends and join groups of their own sex.
Synonym(s): latency period
la·ten·cy phase
, latency period (lā'tĕn-sē fāz, pēr'ē-ŏd)1. psychiatry According to psychoanalytic personality theory, the period of psychosexual development in children, extending from about age 5 to the beginning of adolescence around age 12, during which the apparent cessation of sexual preoccupation stems from a strong, aggressive blockade of libidinal and sexual impulses in an effort to avoid oedipal relationships; during this phase, boys and girls are inclined to choose friends and join groups of their own sex.
2. biowarfare Interval during which an organism lies dormant.