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Gepubliceerd in:

01-06-2006

Pubertal Effects on Adjustment in Girls: Moving from Demonstrating Effects to Identifying Pathways

Auteurs: Julia A. Graber, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Michelle P. Warren

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence | Uitgave 3/2006

Abstract

The present investigation examines mediated pathways from pubertal development to changes in depressive affect and aggression. Participants were 100 white girls who were between the ages of 10 and 14 (M=12.13, SD=.80); girls were from well-educated, middle- to upper-middle class families, and attended private schools in a major northeastern urban area. Three aspects of pubertal development were examined: (a) estradiol categories tapping gonadal maturation; (b) dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels indicating adrenal maturation; and (c) pubertal timing (early vs. other). Three potential mediators were also examined: emotional arousal, attention difficulties, and negative life events. Tests of mediated models indicated that early pubertal timing predicted higher emotional arousal which subsequently predicted increased depressive affect. Negative life events, and possibly attention difficulties, mediated the associations of both estradiol category and DHEAS with aggression. These findings highlight the potential for more intensive investigation of gonadal and adrenal processes in explaining affective changes at puberty.

vorige artikel A Longitudinal Investigation of Associations Between Boys’ Pubertal Timing and Adult Behavioral Health and Well-Being

volgende artikel A Prospective Study of Extreme Weight Change Behaviors Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

Detailed menstrual histories were collected for these girls. Every attempt was made to account for time in cycle in the original collection of the data (Warren and Brooks-Gunn, 1989). It should be noted that eliminating postmenarcheal girls from analyses eliminated the investigation of pubertal timing by reducing the early maturing group to n=5. Also, DHEAS did not differ by menarcheal status and estradiol category is designed to account for it such that these girls are in the highest stage. As such, menarcheal girls were included in the analyses.

Although analyses collapses estradiol Stages 1 and 4, these groups contain girls who are quite different in their pubertal development. Hence, we also ran these models deleting the Stage 4 girls (many of whom were postmenarcheal) from the analyses. The models for estradiol category were virtually identical with and without these girls. For the purposes of clarity, analyses are reported for the full sample of girls.

The rates of delinquency as measured by the YSR were very low in our sample (results available from the authors). The mediated models were tested with the Delinquency subscale of the YSR; results paralleled those for aggression. As such, these analyses are not included as they were redundant.

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Titel: Pubertal Effects on Adjustment in Girls: Moving from Demonstrating Effects to Identifying Pathways
Auteurs: Julia A. Graber
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
Michelle P. Warren
Publicatiedatum: 01-06-2006
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence / Uitgave 3/2006
Print ISSN: 0047-2891
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-6601
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9049-2

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