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Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Development

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Handbook of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health

Part of the book series: Issues in Women’s Health ((WOHI))

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of development when the body has the most rapid change in physical growth second only to infancy. Along with dramatic physical changes at the entry into adolescence, the adolescent decade is defined by the restructuring of social roles, expectations, and relationships within the family, peer group, and school environment (e.g., Adams, Montemayor, & Gullotta, 1989–2000; Feldman & Elliott, 1990; Graber, Brooks-Gunn, & Petersen, 1996). Notably, the pubertal transition, which has often been used to define the beginning of adolescence, has also been viewed as the impetus for other behavioral and social changes with which puberty co-occurs and precedes (Brooks-Gunn & Petersen, 1983; Petersen & Taylor, 1980). Changes within an individual’s social environment are in some part attributable to the response of family, friends, and teachers to a more adultlike appearance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA

    Julia A. Graber

  2. Institute for Child Psychology, Child Development, and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027, USA

    Jeanne Brooks-Gunn

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  1. Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Gina M. Wingood ScD, MPH  & Ralph J. DiClemente PhD  & 

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Graber, J.A., Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002). Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Development. In: Wingood, G.M., DiClemente, R.J. (eds) Handbook of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health. Issues in Women’s Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0689-8_3

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