Abstract
Girls' experiences of secondary sexual characteristic development were explored via direct interview and protective techniques. In a pilot study (Study 1), 30 White middle to upper middle class 6th–8th-grade girls were interviewed about how they felt about breast and pubic hair growth, their comfort discussing these events, and their information acquisition. Breast growth was perceived as more important than hair growth, in part because the former is perceived as a more public event. Few girls reported intensely negative feelings to either change. Since responses to the direct questions were limited, 80 White 6th–9th graders were asked to tell a story (using a semi structured interview technique) about a picture of an adolescent girl, adult female, and adult male in which the adult female was taking a bra out of a shopping bag (Study 2). Affect, attitudes, and character alliances were coded. More girls attributed negative feelings to the father than to the mother character. Almost all girls describe the adolescent in the story as embarrassed. The daughter and father characters were described as uncomfortable more often than the mother character (50% vs. 10%). Positive maternal affect in the stories was associated with more advanced pubertal status, positive body images, more positive emotional tone, and lower anxiety scores. Affect ascribed to the father and daughter characters was less likely to be associated with girls' psychological functioning. Results are discussed in term sof the possible role of puberty upon parent-child relationships and communication.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abel, T., and Joffe, N. F. (1950). Cultural background of female puberty.Am. J. Psychother. 4: 90–93.
Achenbach, T. M., and Edelbrock, C. S. (1983).Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile. Queen City Printers, Burlington, VT.
Achenbach, T. M., and Edelbrock, C. S. (1986).Youth Self-Report Profile for Girls Aged 11–18. Queen City Printers, Burlington, VT.
Attie, I., and Brooks-Gunn, J. (1989). Development of eating problems in adolescent girls: A longitudinal study.Develop. Psychol. 25: 70–79.
Blos, P. (1962).On Adolescence: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation. Free Press, New York.
Blyth, D. A., Simmons, R. G., and Zakin, D. F. (1985). Satisfaction with body image for early adolescent females: The impact of pubertal timing within different school environments.J. Youth Adolesc. 14: 207–225.
Brooks-Gunn, J. (1984). The psychological significance of different pubertal events to young girls.J. Early Adolesc. 4: 315–327.
Brooks-Gunn, J. (1985). The salience and timing of the menstrual flow.Psychosom. Med. 47: 363–371.
Brooks-Gunn, J. (1987). Pubertal processes and girls' psychological adaptation. In Lerner, R., and Foch, T. T. (eds.),Biological-Psychosocial Interactions in Early Adolescence: A Life-Span Psychosocial Perspectives. Plenum Press, New York.
Brooks-Gunn, J., Petersen, A. C., and Eichorn, D. (1985). The study of maturational timing effects in adolescence.J. Youth Adolesc. 14: 149–161.
Brooks-Gunn, J., and Reiter, E. O. (1990). The role of pubertal processes in the early adolescent transition. In Feldman, S., and Elliott, G. (eds.),At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Brooks-Gunn, J., Rock, D., and Warren, M. P. (1989). Comparability of constructs across the adolescent years.Develop. Psychol. 25: 51–60.
Brooks-Gunn, J., and Ruble, D. N. (1980). Menarche: The interaction of physiology, cultural and social factors. In Dan, A. J., Graham, E. A., & Beecher, C. P. (eds.),The Menstrual Cycle: A Synthesis of Interdisciplinary Research. Springer, New York.
Brooks-Gunn, J., and Ruble, D. N. (1982). The development of menstrual-related beliefs and behaviors during early adolescence.Child Develop. 53: 1567–1577.
Brooks-Gunn, J., and Ruble, D. N. (1983). The experience of menarche from a developmental perspective. In Brooks-Gunn, J., Petersen, A. C. (eds.),Girls at Puberty: Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives. Plenum Press, New York.
Brooks-Gunn, J., and Warren, M. P. (1988). The psychological significance of secondary sexual characteristics in 9- to 11-year-old girls.Child Develop. 59: 161–169.
Brooks-Gunn, J., and Warren, M. P. (1989). Biological contributions to affect expression in young adolescent girls.Child Develop. 60: 372–385.
Brooks-Gunn, J., Warren, P. P., Rosso, J., and Gargiulo, J. (1987). Validity of self-report measures of girls' pubertal status.Child Develop. 58: 829–841.
Brooks-Gunn, J., Warren, P. P., Samelson, M., and Fox, R. (1986). Physical similarity of and disclosure of menarcheal status to friends: Effects of grade and pubertal status.J. Early Adolesc. 6: 3–14.
Brooks-Gunn, J., and Zahaykevich, M. (1989). Parent-child-relationships in early adolescence: A developmental perspective. In Kreppner, K., and Lerner, R. M. (eds.),Family Systems and Life-Span Development. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Brown, J. K. (1969). Adolescent initiation rites among preliterate peoples. In Ginder (ed.),Studies in Adolescence. Macmillan, New York.
Chadwick, M. (1932). The psychological effects of menstruation.Nervous and Mental Diseases Monograph Series 56.
Chodorow, N. (1978).The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and Sociology of Gender. University of California, Berkeley.
Csikszentimihalyi, M., and Larson, R. (1984).Being Adolescent: Conflict and Growth in the Teenage Years. Basic Books, New York.
Dornbusch, S. M., Carlsmith, J. M., Duncan, P. D., Gross, R. T., Martin, J. A., Ritter, P. L., and Siegel-Gorelick, B. (1984). Sexual maturation, social class, and the desire to be thinner among adolescent females.Develop. Behav. Pediat. 5: 308–314.
Duke, P. M., Jennings, D. J., Dornbusch, S. M., and Siegel-Gorelick, B. (1982). Educational correlates of early and late sexual maturation in adolescence.J. Pediat. 100: 633–637.
Faust, M. S. (1983). Alternative constructions of adolescent youth. In Brooks-Gunn, J. and Petersen, A. C. (eds.),Girls at Puberty: Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives. Plenum Press, New York.
Gaddis, A., and Brooks-Gunn, J. (1985). The male experience of pubertal change.J. Youth Adolesc. 14: 61–69.
Gargiulo, J., Attie, I., Brooks-Gunn, J., and Warren, M. P. (1987). Girls' dating behavior as a function of social context and maturation.Develop. Psychol. 23: 730–737.
Golub, S. (ed.). (1983)Menarche. Lexington Books, Heath, Lexington, MA.
Grief, E. B., and Ulman, K. J. (1982). The psychological impact of menarche on early adolescent female: A review of the literature.Child Develop. 53: 1413–1430.
Grotevant, H. D., and Cooper, C. R. (1985). Patterns of interaction in family relationships and the development of identity exploration in adolescence.Child Develop. 56: 415–128.
Grotevant, H. D., and Cooper, C. R. (1986). Individuation in family relationships.Human Develop. 29: 82–100.
Harlan, W. R., Harlan, E. A., and Grillo, G. P. (1980). Secondary sex characteristics of girls 12 to 16 years of age: The U.S. Health Examination Survey.J. Pediat. 96: 1074–1078.
Hauser, S. T., Powders, S. I., Noam, G., Jacobson, A. M., Weiss, B., and Follansbee, D. J. (1984). Familial contexts of adolescent ego development.Child Develop. 55: 195–213.
Hill, J. P. (ed.). (1982). Early adolescence [Special issue]. Child Develop. 53: 1409–1412.
Hill, J. P. (1988). Adapting to menarche: Familial Control and Conflict. In Gunnar, M. R., and Collins, W. A. (eds.),Development During the Transition to Adolescence (Vol. 21), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Hill, J. P., Holmbeck, G. N., Marlow, L., Green, T. M., and Lynch, M. E. (1985). Menarcheal status and parent-child relations in families of seventh-grade girls.J. Youth Adolesc. 14(4): 301–316.
Hill, J. P., and Lynch, M. E. (1983). The intensification of gender-related role expectations during early adolescence. In Brooks-Gunn, J., and Petersen, A. C. (eds.),Girls at Puberty: Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives. Plenum, New York.
Hollingshead, A. B., and Redlich, F. C. (1958).Social Class and Mental Illness: A Community Study. Wiley, New York.
Janiger, O., Riffenburgh, R., and Kersh, R. (1972). Cross-cultural study of premenstrual symptoms.Psychosomatics 13: 226–235.
Koff, E., Rierdan, J., and Jacobson, S. (1981). Their personal and interpersonal significance of menarche.J. Am. Acad. Child Psychiat. 20: 148–158.
Kohlberg, L. (1966). A cognitive-developmental analysis of children's sex role concepts and attitudes. In Maccoby, E. E. (ed.),The Development of Sex Differences. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Maccoby, E. E., and Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent-child interaction. In Hetherington, E. E. (Vol. ed.),Socialization, Personality, and Social Development (Vol. IV). Handbook of Child Psychology (4th Ed. Mussen, P. H., ed.). Wiley, New York.
Marshall, W. A., and Tanner, J. M. (1969). Variations in pattern of pubertal changes in girls.Arch. Dis. Child. 44: 291–303.
Montemayor, R. (1982). The relationship between parent-adolescent conflict and the amount of time adolescents spend alone and with parents and peers.Child Develop. 53: 1512–1519.
Montemayor, R., and Hanson, E. A. (1985). A naturalistic view of conflict between adolescents and their parents and siblings.J. Early Adolesc. 5: 23–30.
Morgan, C. D., and Murray, E. A. (1935). A method for investigating fantasies: The Thematic Apperception Test.Arch. Neurol. Psychiat. 34: 289–306.
Offer, D., Ostrov, E., and Howard, K. I. (1982).The Offer Self Image Questionnaire for Adolescents: A Manual (3rd ed.). Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago.
Paige, K. E. (1983). A Bargaining theory of menarcheal responses in preindustrial cultures. In Brooks-Gunn, J., and Petersen, A. C. (eds.),Girls at Puberty: Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives. Plenum Press, New York.
Paikoff, R. L., and Brooks-Gunn, J. (1991). Do parent-child relationships change during puberty?Psychol. Bull. 110: 47–66.
Petersen, A. C. (1983). Menarche: Meaning of measures and measuring meaning. In Golub, S. (eds.),Menarche. Heath, Lexington, MA.
Petersen, A. C. (1984). The early adolescent study: An overview.J. Early Adolesc. 4: 103–106.
Petersen, A. C. (1988). Adolescent development.Ann. Rev. Psychol. 39: 583–607.
Petersen, A. C., Schulenberg, J. E., Abramowitz, R. H., Offer, D., and Jarcho, H. D. (1984). A self-image questionnaire for young adolescents (SIQYA): Reliability and validity studies.J. Youth Adolesc. 9: 49–58.
Ruble, D. N. (1983). The development of social-comparison processes and their role in achievement-related self-socialization. In Higgins, E. T., Ruble, D. N., and Hartup, W. W. (eds.),Social Cognition and Social Development. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Ruble, D. N., and Brooks-Gunn, J. (1982). The experience of menarche.Child Develop. 53: 1557–1566.
Shipman, C. (1971). The psychodynamics of sex education. In Muuss, R. E. (ed.),Adolescent Behavior and Society: A Book of Readings. Random House, New York.
Simmons, R. G., and Blyth, D. A. (1987).Moving into Adolescence: The Impact of Pubertal Change and School Context. Adline De Gruyter, New York.
Snowden, R., and Christian, B. (eds.). (1983).Patterns and Perceptions of Menstruation. St. Martin's Press, New York.
Steinberg, L. D. (1987). The impact of puberty on family relations: Effects of pubertal status and pubertal timing.Develop. Psychol. 23: 451460.
Steinberg, L. D., and Hill, J. P. (1978). Patterns of family interaction as a function of age, the onset of puberty, and formal thinking.Develop. Psychol. 14: 683–684.
Tanner, J. M. (1962).Growth at Adolescence (2nd ed.). Lippincott, New York.
Tanner, J. M. (1978).Fetus into Man. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Tobin-Richards, M., Boxer, A., and Petersen, A. C. (1983). Early adolescents' perceptions of their physical development. In Brooks-Guun, and Petersen, A. C. (eds.),Girls at Puberty: Biological and Psychological Perspectives. Plenum Press, New York.
Whisnant, L., and Zegans, L. (1975). A study of attitudes towards menarche in White middle-class American adolescent girls.Am. J. Psychiat. 132: 809–814.
Youniss, J. (1985).Adolescent Relations with Mothers, Fathers and Friends. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
We wish to thank the W. T. Grant Foundation and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for their generous support of our research. This article was written while the first author was a Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation; the support of the foundation is appreciated.
Received Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Received M.D. from Columbia University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brooks-Gunn, J., Newman, D.L., Holderness, C. et al. The experience of breast development and girls' stories about the purchase of a bra. J Youth Adolescence 23, 539–565 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537735
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537735