Adolescent health brief
Interactive Roles of Pubertal Timing and Peer Relations in Predicting Social Anxiety Symptoms Among Youth

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.08.023Get rights and content

Abstract

The interaction between early maturation and problematic peer relations in relation to social anxiety symptoms was examined among 167 adolescents aged 10–17 years. Results indicated that early-maturing youth with problematic peer relations evidenced elevated social anxiety symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications for adolescent social anxiety development.

Section snippets

Participants

A total of 225 adolescents, aged 10–17 years, were recruited from the community via flyers for an investigation concerning adolescent emotional vulnerability. Of these, 167 (80 female; mean age = 14.48 years; SD = 2.24) completed all measures addressed in the present study. Importantly, this sub-sample did not differ from those with missing data on any theoretically important variables (e.g., age, SA). The racial composition reflected the make-up of the local area (87.4% Caucasian).

Measures and procedure

Consistent

Results

In regard to pubertal timing, 23.4% were early, 56.3% on time, and 20.4% late. Scores on the RCADS-SP ranged from 0–24 (mean = 8.38; SD = 4.79); YSR scores ranged from 0–15 (mean = 3.71; SD = 3.02).

Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted, with late maturation evaluated as a complementary analysis. In an effort to assess the unique contribution of the variables of interest, age, gender, and depression scores were entered at step one. Pubertal timing ratings were dummy coded (0 =

Discussion

The current study suggests that early pubertal timing combined with problematic peer relations is associated with enhanced vulnerability to SA among adolescents. These findings complement a recent trend in the literature examining developmentally relevant factors (e.g., childhood illness) in the onset and maintenance of SA [3], [4], [9]. Although this particular line of research is still in its infancy, it coalesces nicely with the considerable body of work examining pubertal maturation in the

Acknowledgment

The authors thank William H. Levine, Ph.D., for his invaluable assistance with this project.

References (10)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (34)

  • Increased dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is associated with anxiety in adolescent girls

    2020, Psychoneuroendocrinology
    Citation Excerpt :

    Previous research has highlighted a role of early pubertal maturation, specifically, in conferring risk for anxiety. Across multiple studies, early pubertal maturation has been linked to increased social anxiety symptoms (Blumenthal et al., 2009, 2011; Deardorff et al., 2007), increased symptoms of state and trait anxiety (Zehr et al., 2007), greater prevalence of lifetime anxiety (Graber et al., 2004), and increased anxiety symptoms and probability of panic attacks (Hayward et al., 1997). In many studies, these effects were stronger in girls than boys (Blumenthal et al., 2011; Reardon et al., 2009), but more recent studies have found no sex differences in this effect (Hamlat et al., 2019; Ullsperger and Nikolas, 2017).

  • Social Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: Biological, Developmental, and Social Considerations

    2014, Social Anxiety: Clinical, Developmental, and Social Perspectives
  • Social and emotional predictors of the tempo of puberty in female rhesus monkeys

    2013, Psychoneuroendocrinology
    Citation Excerpt :

    However, this is not necessarily the case, as a number of studies show that early puberty is often associated with increased risk for mood and anxiety disorders as well as social impairments during late adolescence and adulthood, particularly in girls (Graber et al., 1997; Mendle et al., 2007; Nelson et al., 2005; Reardon et al., 2009; Zehr et al., 2007). The mechanisms responsible for the emergence of socio-emotional problems in early developing individuals are poorly understood, but likely reflect the interaction of the social demands of adolescence and a developing brain (Angold and Costello, 2006; Blumenthal et al., 2009; Casey et al., 2010; Patton and Viner, 2007; Walker et al., 2004). While the consequences of puberty on subsequent emotional development and adult behavior have received significant attention, what is less understood are the social, physiological, and environmental factors that actually alter the initiation and progression of puberty.

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text