Measuring Puberty and Understanding Its Impact: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Twins

Pubertal development is an important focus of current biopsychosocial research. The Pubertal Development Scale or PDS (Petersen, Crockett, Richards, and Boxer, J. Youth Adolesc. (1988) 17: 117–133) has become a widely used measure in school-based and longitudinal research, because it incorporates several indices of pubertal development. This study reports normative data on the PDS for two population-based birth cohorts of Finnish twin boys and girls, assessed at ages 11–12 and 14. Additionally, we report longitudinal analyses of the associations between pubertal development and substance use, suggesting that the impact of pubertal timing is more complex than previously reported; associations commonly assumed between pubertal development and substance use held only for those whose developmental level, relative to peers, remained stable across follow-up. Finally, we report twin correlations for the PDS which suggest that sibling similarity for pubertal development arises from both shared genes and shared environments and that the patterns of these influences vary between sexes and across time.     

Gender Differential Influences of Early Adolescent Risk Factors for the Development of Depressive Affect

Based on a model by Cyranowski, J., et al. (2000), Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 57: 21–27, adolescents at-risk for the development of depressive symptoms were identified. Adolescents were considered at-risk if they had 2 or more of the following early adolescent risk factors: (1) insecure parental attachment, (2) anxious/inhibited temperament, (3) low instrumental coping skills, and (4) early pubertal maturation. Nonrisk adolescents had zero or just one risk factor. Using data from a 10-year longitudinal study on the development of adolescents’ health, with 5 points of data assessment (i.e., 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, and 12 + 4 follow-up), the impact of the four early adolescent risk factors on the development of emotional tone was investigated. Emotional tone was measured by the Emotional Tone Scale of the SIQYA (Petersen, A. C., et al. (1984), J. Youth Adolesc. 13: 93–111), an indicator for positive emotional tone and low depressed affect. Growth curve modeling was applied to reveal significant gender differences in level and slope for the development of emotional tone over the adolescent years. Latent Growth Curve Models can be seen as a combination consisting of repeated measures analysis of variance and autoregressive analyses to evaluate the latent change of the variables under investigation (Rovine, M. J., and Molenaar, P. C. M. (2000), Multivar. Behav. Res. 35(1): 51–88). At-risk girls revealed poorer levels of emotional tone which stayed almost at the same low level up to young adulthood (i.e., 12 + 4), indicating a long lasting impact of the specified risk factors. In contrast, at-risk boys showed poorer emotional tone in early adolescence, but at the end of adolescence boys at-risk had the same level of emotional tone as nonrisk boys. At-risk girls showed significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms at grade 12 and at 12 + 4.Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He received his master’s degree from the Technical University Berlin in 1989 and his PhD from the Pennsylvania State University in 1993. His research interests encompass developmental psychology and methodology.Senior Vice President for Programs at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Michigan. She received her PhD from the University of Chicago.     

A Case Control Study of Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior and Its Relationship to Personality Dimensions,Conduct Disorder,and Substance Use

In comparison to the general adolescent population, adolescents with a history of externalizing behaviors including substance use and conduct disorder are younger at first intercourse, have a larger number of sexual partners, and use condoms less often when they engage in intercourse, placing them at higher risk for sexually transmitted diseases as well as unplanned pregnancy (Morris, R. E., Baker, C. J., Valentine, M., and Pennisi, A. J. (1998). J. Adolesc. Health 23: 39–48). A primary goal of this paper was to examine linkages between Cloninger's novelty-seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence dimensions and risky sexual behavior among 200 boys in treatment for substance abuse and delinquency compared to 200 boys recruited from the community, and matched on age, ethnicity, and geographic location. Analyses indicated that though there were mean differences on all personality constructs examined, these differences in personality failed to account for observed differences in risky sexual behavior. The structure of problem behavior also differed in the 2 groups.     

Adolescent Gender Differences in Suicide-Related Behaviors

Utilizing data as well as factor analysis and multiple regression the previously published study, Risk Factors Related to Suicidal Behavior Among Male and Female Adolescents [(1996), Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 25, pp. 149–160], this follow-up study examined gender differences in risk factors that increase the probability of self-reported suicidal behavior among seventh through twelfth grade students (N = 3461) in a northern Midwest school district. The logistic regression results revealed gender differences in that the demonstration of more aggressive behaviors increased the likelihood of males reporting suicidal behavior.     

Vulnerability to Friends’ Suicide Influence: The Moderating Effects of Gender and Adolescent Depression

This paper examines whether severity of depression reduces or intensifies the relationship between friends’ suicide attempt and adolescent's own attempt to commit suicide, and whether there are gender differences in this interrelationship. Using logistic regression and data from a nationally representative sample of adolescents studied at 2 points in time, this study yielded significant findings. First, friends’ suicide attempt and adolescent depression each predicts adolescent's own attempt to commit suicide, and these effects are similar for both boys and girls. Second, highly depressed adolescents are less likely than low- or nondepressed adolescents to attempt suicide when their friends attempt suicide, and this relationship is observed mainly among adolescent boys. Finally, for adolescent girls, depression reduces the relationship between friends’ suicidal attempt and adolescent's own attempt but this effect is not statistically significant. These results are discussed in light of their theoretical importance and policy implications.Professor of Sociology at San Diego State University. Has published in the areas of crime/delinquency, drug use/abuse, intergenerational processes, and psychosocial stress. Recent publications have appeared in Western Criminology Review, Social Psychology Quarterly, Sociological Inquiry, Journal of Adolescent Research, and Youth and Society.     

Risk factors related to suicidal behavior among male and female adolescents

This study examined gender differences in self-reported suicidal behavior in relation to the risk factors of tobacco use, alcohol use, drug use, school misconduct, academic difficulties, home environment, sexual activity, and violence among seventh-through twelfth grade students (N=3461)in a northern Midwest school district. Data were gathered from the Survey Instrument of Attitude/Behavior administered in the school district during the spring of 1993. The dependent variables were suicidal activity and suicidal tendency. Stepwise forward regression ordered the independent factors in predicting suicidal activity and suicidal tendency for the male and female samples. The comparison of regression results revealed the following: (1) the independent factors accounted for more variance in male suicidal activity and tendency than in female suicidal activity and tendency; (2) as the level of suicidality increased, so did the frequency of violent behaviors among both genders; (3) leading predictors for suicidal activity were similar between gender; and (4) gender differences were displayed in predictors of suicidal tendency.Major interests include risk taking behaviors, youth suicide, and educator use of research.     

Influences and Mediators of the Effect of Poverty on Young Adolescent Depressive Symptoms

Data from a sample of young adolescents between the ages of 10 and 12 years (N = 898) from the mother–child data set of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were analyzed in a study of influences that explain the relation between poverty and depressive symptoms measured 2 years later. Other variables that predicted youth depressive symptoms were also identified. Results indicated that neighborhood problems, nonparticipation in outside school and neighborhood activities, residing with mothers who exhibited depressive symptoms, and mother's use of physical punishment were partial mediators of the effect of poverty on depressive symptoms 2 years later. Youth health status, lower levels of school satisfaction, marital-partner conflict, and father's emotional support also predicted depressive symptoms. The findings indicate that youth depressive symptoms are multiply determined and that poverty can adversely affect young adolescents in many ways.     

Social Connections,Trajectories of Hopelessness,and Serious Violence in Impoverished Urban Youth

Youth living in impoverished urban neighborhoods are at risk for becoming hopeless about their future and engaging in violent behaviors. The current study seeks to examine the longitudinal relationship between social connections, hopelessness trajectories, and subsequent violent behavior across adolescence. Our sample included 723 (49% female) African American youth living in impoverished urban neighborhoods who participated in the Mobile Youth Survey from 1998 through 2006. Using general growth mixture modeling, we found two hopelessness trajectory classes for both boys and girls during middle adolescence: a consistently low hopelessness class and an increasingly hopeless class with quadratic change. In all classes, youth who reported stronger early adolescent connections to their mothers were less hopeless at age 13. The probability of later adolescent violence with a weapon was higher for boys and was associated with the increasingly hopeless class for both boys and girls. Implications for new avenues of research and design of hope-based prevention interventions will be discussed.     

Field Independence–Dependence and Self-Esteem in Preadolescents: Does Gender Make a Difference?

This study investigated the relationship between field independence–dependence (FD) and self-esteem in preadolescent girls and boys. Sixty-three Grade 6 students (33 girls, 30 boys) completed the Group Embedded Figures Test [H. Witkin, P. Oltman, E. Raskin, and S. Karp (1971). A Manual for the Embedded Figures Test, consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA] and the Self-Esteem Inventory [S. Coopersmith, (1967)]. The Antecedents of Self-Esteem, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA]. Results indicated that, contrary to prediction, girls did not have lower self-esteem than boys. The hypothesis that field independence and self-esteem correlated negatively for girls and positively for boys was confirmed. The implications of these findings for educational practice and future research are discussed.     

Eating Problems and the Self-Concept: Results Based on a Representative Sample of Norwegian Adolescent Girls

The joint role of self-esteem and unstable self-perceptions for eating problems was investigated in a representative Norwegian population sample of girls in 3 age groups (N = 5287; aged 12–19 years). Three scales from the 12-item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-12) measured eating problems: Restriction, Bulimia-food preoccupation, and Diet. Girls low on all EAT scales were most often characterized by high self-esteem combined with stable self-perceptions, whereas girls high on all EAT-scales were characterized by having low self-esteem and unstable self-perceptions. Bulimic tendencies and dieting were more common in older groups, whereas high scores on all EAT-scales simultaneously were equally common in all ages. The findings gave initial support to the continuity hypothesis in indicating that the age trends for eating problems, except for restrictive tendencies, followed those of eating disorders and in that the risk factors found for eating problems parallel those reported for eating disorders.     

Pubertal Timing and Adolescent Adjustment and Behavior: Conclusions Vary by Rater

The effects of pubertal timing on adolescent development have been studied since the late 1930s, yet the research has yielded inconsistent findings. One reason for such inconsistency may be the source of the rating. The purpose of this report was to examine whether pubertal timing by self-report (SR), parent report (PR), or physical exam (PE) predicted the same aspects of adjustment and behavior problems. Fifty-two girls, age 9–14 years (M = 12.0 ± 1.6) and 56 boys, age 10–15 years (M = 12.7 ± 1.3) and their parents were enrolled in the longitudinal study. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist and adolescents completed the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire. Using regression, later maturing boys and girls had more adjustment and behavior problems than on-time or earlier maturers in cross-sectional analyses. Longitudinally, there were few significant relationships between pubertal timing at the first occasion of measurement and adjustment and behavior problems 1 year later. Overlap in correlates of adjustment and behavior problems across raters was not always found. More significant findings were evident between pubertal timing and adjustment and behavior problems for boys than for girls and more for ratings by PE than by SR or PR. Caution appears in order when drawing conclusions about pubertal timing and adolescent behavior when rater of pubertal development or timing of rating varies across studies. The selection of who rates pubertal development and the timing of the ratings should be based on the underlying theoretical framework guiding the hypotheses.     

The Family Antecedents and the Subsequent Outcomes of Early Puberty

The purpose of this study was to examine both the family antecedents and the outcomes of early puberty, with a particular focus on factors related to family socioeconomic status (SES). The study employed a comprehensive measurement of pubertal development and longitudinal data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. The sample (N = 8,440; 49% girls) included four cohorts of children who were followed biennially for 10 years, starting from age 4–11 to 14–21 years. Data were drawn at different years of age from these cohorts of children. Girls whose fathers were unemployed were more likely to experience early puberty than those whose fathers were employed. For boys, those living with fathers who had not finished secondary school were more likely to experience early puberty. Early maturing girls tended to engage in smoking and drinking at an earlier age compared with their peers. These findings provide support for psychosocial acceleration theory and suggest that different aspects of low family SES may act as a psychosocial stress for early pubertal maturation in boys versus girls, which may lead to engagement in drinking and smoking at a younger age, at least for girls.     

Factors Contributing to Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms: A Test of Three Developmental Models

In a longitudinal study on 115 early adolescents, the impact of major events, relationship stressors, and coping style in interaction with biological changes on depressive outcome in late adolescence were explored. Three developmental models proposed by Nolen-Hoeksema and Girgus (1994, Psychol. Bull. 115: 424–433), which attempt to explain the emergence of gender differences in adolescent depressive symptoms, were tested. Multiple regression analyses conducted to test Model 1 identified two etiological factors associated with gender differences of depression, namely, stress in the adolescent–mother relationship and a more negative body image. Tests of Model 2 revealed etiological factors which correlated with depression in adolescent girls but not adolescent boys. The correlational patterns of avoidant coping and body image emerged as relevant factors for Model 2. Finally, tests of Model 3 searched for factors which were more likely to be observed in adolescent girls than boys and which would put girls at risk should they interact with a third etiological factor. Early maturational timing emerged as a factor for Model 3.     

Dimensions of Adolescent Psychopathology and Relationships to Suicide Risk Indicators

Youth suicide represents an area of important public and mental health concern. Although diagnostic correlates (e.g., depression) of suicidality have been identified, very few studies of youth have analyzed relationships between empirically-derived dimensions of psychopathology, representing broader dimensions of risk, and different suicidality indicators. We recruited 223 adolescents (57% female; 32% ethnic minority) from mental health agencies and the community to assess psychopathology, substance use, and suicidality relying on multiple measures and reporters (youth, parent, and clinician). Using a 3-factor model of psychopathology, we found that the Internalizing factor (including depression and generalized anxiety) was associated with both suicidal thinking and behaviors (threats/attempts), the Externalizing factor (conduct, oppositional, and attention deficit disorders) was negatively related only to suicidal thinking, and the Substance Use factor (alcohol and cannabis use) related to suicidal behaviors of threats/attempts but not suicidal thinking. The results show the utility of a dimensional conceptualization for clarifying distinct vulnerabilities to suicidal thinking versus overt behaviors and have implications for the construct validity of distinct dimensions of psychopathology.     

Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Suicidal Ideation in Emerging Adults: The Role of Traumatic Stress and Depressive Symptoms Varies by Gender not Race/Ethnicity

Drawing from Race-Based Traumatic Stress theory, the present study examined whether traumatic stress and depressive symptoms differentially help explain the relation between racial/ethnic discrimination and suicidal ideation across gender and racial/ethnic groups. A racially/ethnically diverse group of emerging adults (N?=?1344; M_age?=?19.88, SD?=?2.25; 72% female; 46% Hispanic) completed a battery of self-report measures. A cross-sectional design was employed with a series of hierarchical linear regression models and bootstrapping procedures to examine the direct and indirect relation between racial/ethnic discrimination and suicidal ideation through traumatic stress and depressive symptoms across gender and race/ethnicity. The findings suggest an indirect relation through depressive symptoms, but not traumatic stress, and a serial indirect relation through traumatic stress to depressive symptoms in young women and young men, the latter of which was stronger in young women. The indirect relations did not vary by racial/ethnic group. Cumulative experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination may impact suicide-related risk via increases in psychiatric symptomology (i.e., traumatic stress and depressive symptoms), particularly in young women. Racial/ethnic discrimination experiences should be accounted for as a potential source of psychological distress in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of suicidal thoughts and behavior, especially among young women endorsing traumatic stress and depressive symptoms. Further research is warranted to better understand the gender difference in the relation between racial/ethnic discrimination and suicide-related risk.

     

Separation from Parents in Late Adolescence: The Same for Boys and Girls?

This study examined the way late adolescents separate from their parents. Emotional independence and conflictual independence toward mother and father were assessed. Emotional independence was defined as freedom from an excessive need for emotional support from the parents and conflictual independence as absence of guilt, mistrust, and anger toward parents. Students (18–22 years; N = 190) enrolled in higher education completed two scales of Hoffmann's Psychological Separation Inventory. Results indicated that girls more than boys need emotional support from their mothers (z = –3.101, p < .002). They express this need significantly more towards their mothers than towards their fathers (z = –4.194, p < .00003). The pattern of the girls' typical items demonstrated an ambivalence between reported dependence and demand for autonomy. The two types of independence (emotional and conflictual) were moderately correlated (r _s = .40). These findings support Gilligan's argument that connectedness plays a central role in the development of female adolescents. They speak for a multidimensional approach of the psychological separation process, which takes the type of independence and the children's and parents' gender into account.     

Heavy metal music and reckless behavior among adolescents

Adolescents who liked heavy metal music were compared to those who did not on a variety of outcome variables, particularly focusing on reckless behavior. Boys who liked heavy metal music reported a higher rate of a wide range of reckless behavior, including driving behavior, sexual behavior, and drug use. They were also less satisfied with their family relationships. Girls who liked heavy metal music were more reckless in the areas of shoplifting, vandalism, sexual behavior, and drug use, and reported lower self-esteem. Both boys and girls who liked heavy metal music were higher in sensation seeking and more self-assured with regard to sexuality and dating. In regression analyses, the relation between reckless behavior and liking heavy metal music was sustained for five out of twelve variables concerning reckless behavior, including three of four among girls, when sensation seeking and family relationships were entered into the equation before liking or not liking heavy metal music.Received Ph.D. from University of Virginia. Research interests include adolescent musical preferences, reckless behavior, and socialization.     

Self-esteem and self-presentation among the young as a function of age and gender

This study investigated the effect of self-esteem on the tendency to convey a false impression to others by hiding one's feelings behind a facade. Utilizing a sample of youth (ages 8–19), a multiple regression analysis revealed that the lower the self-esteem, the greater the tendency to present a false front. In addition, other aspects of the self-concept, including vulnerability to criticism, self-consciousness, and the tendency to fantasize affect the tendency to present a false front. Furthermore, the nature of the self-esteem/ fabrication relationship is a joint function of age and gender. As age increases, the direct effect of self-esteem on fabrication loses statistical significance, but this loss occurs differently for boys and girls. For boys, the direct effect is significant in pre-adolescence (8–11), but not in early or late adolescence (12–14 and 15–19). For girls, the direct effect is significant in pre- and early adolescence (8–11 and 12–14), but not in late adolescence (15–19). Reasons for the differing patterns for boys and girls are discussed.This study was supported by NIMH Grant No. 5 R01 MH 27747-06, awarded to Morris Rosenberg. The data were analyzed using the facilities of the Computer Science Center, University of Maryland, College Park.Received his Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Current major interest is the process of self-presentation.     

Three to Four Year Prospective Evaluation of Personality and Behavioral Risk Factors for Later Disordered Eating in Adolescent Girls and Boys

Findings of a 3- to 4-year prospective investigation of personality, temperament, and behavioral factors predictive of the later development of disordered eating in an adolescent population are presented. The sample consisted of 726 girls and 698 boys who entered the study in grades 7–10 in year 1 or in grade 7 in year 2. Predictors of eating disorder risk score were determined separately by gender. For both girls and boys, the latent variable of negative affect/attitudes determined at study entrance was the only significant predictor of final-year risk score. Semistructured diagnostic interviews confirmed an eating disorder diagnosis in 52.8% of 36 female subjects in the high eating disorder symptom group. A substantial history of lifetime and current comorbidity also was noted in this group. The function of negative affect/attitudes as a generalized psychopathology vulnerability factor and as a specific factor increasing risk for disordered eating is discussed.     

Rap Music Genres and Deviant Behaviors in French-Canadian Adolescents

This study investigated the links between the preference for 4 rap music genres (American rap, French rap, hip hop/soul, and gangsta/hardcore rap) and 5 types of deviant behaviors in adolescence (violence, theft, street gangs, mild drug use, and hard drug use). The effects of peers' deviancy, violent media, and importance given to lyrics were statistically controlled. A self-report questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 348 bilingual French-Canadian adolescents (age: M = 15.32; SD = 0.9; 185 girls and 163 boys). Results indicated that rap music as a whole was linked to deviant behaviors, however the nature of the relation differed according to genres. Preference for French rap had the strongest links to deviant behaviors, whereas preference for hip hop/soul was linked to less deviant behaviors. Results are discussed within the psychosocial and sociocognitive perspectives on music influence in adolescence and also within the perspective of normative deviant behaviors in adolescence.