Development's Tortoise and Hare Mendle, Jane; Harden, K. Paige; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne ...
Developmental psychology,
09/2010, Letnik:
46, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Although the sequence of pubertal maturation remains consistent across most individuals, the timing and tempo of development fluctuate widely. While past research has largely focused on the sequelae ...of pubertal timing, a faster tempo of maturation might also present special challenges to children for acclimating to new biological and social milestones. Using latent growth curve modeling, the present study investigated how pubertal tempo and pubertal timing predicted depressive symptoms over a 4-year period in a sample of children recruited from New York City area public schools. Rate of intraindividual change in parent-reported Tanner stages was used as an index of pubertal tempo, and more advanced Tanner development at an earlier chronological age was used as an index of pubertal timing. For girls (
N
= 138,
M
= 8.86 years old at Time 1), pubertal timing emerged as the most salient factor, and the tempo at which girls progressed through puberty was not significant. In boys (
N
= 128,
M
= 9.61 years old at Time 1), both timing and tempo of development were significant; notably, however, the effects of pubertal tempo were stronger than those of timing. These findings highlight the need to consider multiple sources of individual variability in pubertal development and suggest different pubertal challenges for boys and girls.
Dramatic physical and emotional changes mark puberty as one of the most important transitions of the human life span. To date, the majority of psychological studies on puberty have focused on ...pubertal timing, or when children mature relative to their peers. Yet understanding why puberty is meaningful requires adequate attention to multiple domains of developmental variation. The current article outlines four additional aspects of puberty relevant to health and well-being: tempo, synchrony, secular trends, and perceived development.
Beginning at puberty, prevalence of depression in females rises dramatically. The physical changes of puberty coincide with a period of social flux, during which relationships become less stable and ...more prone to conflict. While this social upheaval is normatively distressing for girls, it may be especially so for girls with cognitive styles that leave them more susceptible to depression. The present study investigated depressive symptoms at two time points during early pubertal maturation.
= 110 girls (
= 11.57, SD = 0.98) reported on depressive symptomology, pubertal maturation, ruminative coping style, frequency of peer conflict, and rejection sensitivity. Multivariate analyses suggest more advanced pubertal development and greater rejection sensitivity at Time 1 predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms at Time 2, after accounting for baseline levels of depressive symptoms and all other social and cognitive correlates of depression. This effect was also found in early maturing girls. Menarche status was not significant. Since menarche occurs toward the end of puberty, results suggest that risk for worsening depression is not associated with completing puberty, or with menstruation itself. Rather, increases in depressive symptoms seem to be associated with physical changes that emerge early in the pubertal transition, especially for early maturing girls, paired with anticipatory concerns about social rejection.
Few periods of the life span are as dynamic, tumultuous, and emotionally salient as puberty. The combination of biological and social change during this transition contributes to sweeping shifts in ...the prevalence and nature of psychopathology. In this article, I highlight the role of puberty in psychological well‐being, reviewing both individual and population‐wide trends in psychological symptoms and disorders. Emphasis is on three domains associated with maturation: typicality of symptoms, epidemiological shifts, and individual differences.
Puberty and Transdiagnostic Risks for Mental Health Mendle, Jane; Beam, Christopher R.; McKone, Kirsten M. P. ...
Journal of research on adolescence,
September 2020, Letnik:
30, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Puberty in girls represents a notable period of vulnerability for different psychological disorders. The research literature has primarily considered external and contextual factors that might ...explain these rises in symptomatology. In the present study, we investigate relations of pubertal status and timing with individual cognitive, emotional, and behavioral tendencies, commonly identified as transdiagnostic processes, in a sample of N = 228 girls (Mage = 11.75 years). We also test whether these transdiagnostic processes mediate associations of pubertal status and pubertal timing with depressive symptoms. Results support greater endorsement of rumination, co‐rumination, negative urgency, and both anxious and angry rejection sensitivity in girls with more advanced pubertal status, as well as in girls with early pubertal timing. Higher levels of transdiagnostic processes fully mediated associations of pubertal status and timing with depressive symptoms at significant and marginally significant levels, respectively. Although the data are cross‐sectional, these findings offer promising preliminary evidence that transdiagnostic processes represent an important mental health risk in early adolescent girls.
Abstract Purpose Although links between early childhood maltreatment and girls' sexual behavior in adolescence have been well established, it is unclear whether different forms of maltreatment are ...differentially associated with sexual outcomes and whether distinct mechanisms explain associations across maltreatment types. Methods Using data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the present study examines whether physical abuse, sexual abuse, and physical neglect in early childhood differentially predict girls' age at first intercourse and number of sexual partners in early adulthood. The study also tests whether early pubertal timing mediates the link between early maltreatment and sexual behavior (N = 6,364). Results Findings indicate that early sexual and physical abuse were equally predictive of earlier age at first intercourse and a greater number of sexual partners, but that only the sexual abuse—age at first intercourse link was mediated by early puberty. Conclusions These results suggest that sexual abuse and physical abuse are associated with earlier and riskier sexual behavior in girls relative to no maltreatment and to similar degrees. However, only the link between sexual abuse and sexual behavior involves a biological mechanism manifested in early pubertal timing.
We investigated reciprocity between depressive symptoms and a novel construct called derailment, which indexes perceived changes in identity and self-direction. People who are “derailed” have trouble ...reconciling how their life course has unfolded over time and, as a result, do not easily identify with their former self. College students (N = 939) participated in a preregistered, four-wave longitudinal study over one academic year. Depression positively predicted subsequent derailment across all components of the model, suggesting that perceived disruptions in life course may occur in response to elevated depressive symptoms. Contrary to predictions, derailment negatively predicted later depression across most waves, indicating that felt changes in identity and self-direction could buffer against downstream mood deteriorations. Although our findings did not support reciprocity, prospective evidence that perceived instability of identity and self-direction relate to an increase in depressive symptoms positions derailment as a new and potentially important facet of the depressive phenotype.
The human brain has the ability to process identical information differently depending on the task. In order to perform a given task, the brain must select and react to the appropriate stimuli while ...ignoring other irrelevant stimuli. The dynamic nature of environmental stimuli and behavioral intentions requires an equally dynamic set of responses within the brain. Collectively, these responses act to set up and maintain states needed to perform a given task. However, the mechanisms that allow for setting up and maintaining a task state are not fully understood. Prior evidence suggests that one possible mechanism for maintaining a task state may be through altering 'background connectivity,' connectivity that exists independently of the trials of a task. Although previous studies have suggested that background connectivity contributes to a task state, these studies have typically not controlled for stimulus characteristics, or have focused primarily on relationships among areas involved with visual sensory processing. In the present study we examined background connectivity during tasks involving both visual and auditory stimuli. We examined the connectivity profiles of both visual and auditory sensory cortex that allow for selection of task-relevant stimuli, demonstrating the existence of a potentially universal pattern of background connectivity underlying attention to a stimulus. Participants were presented with simultaneous auditory and visual stimuli and were instructed to respond to only one, while ignoring the other. Using functional MRI, we observed task-based modulation of the background connectivity profile for both the auditory and visual cortex to certain brain regions. There was an increase in background connectivity between the task-relevant sensory cortex and control areas in the frontal cortex. This increase in synchrony when receiving the task-relevant stimulus as compared to the task irrelevant stimulus may be maintaining paths for passing information within the cortex. These task-based modulations of connectivity occur independently of stimuli and could be one way the brain sets up and maintains a task state.
•Background connectivity represents shift in the dynamics of ongoing neural activity.•Background connectivity changes with task.•Set of right frontal regions increase connection to task-relevant sensory cortex.•Enhanced connectivity to these 4 frontal regions may reflect control of sensory inputs.•Background connectivity may be one mechanism for maintaining a task state.
This study investigated the body image experiences unique to collegiate female athletes in relation to their apparel wear. Female athletes (n = 36) participated in interview sessions, 3D body ...scanning, and photography of garment fit, and the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). Through Qualtrics, the MBSRQ was distributed to female college students nationwide, to obtain a larger participant pool (Lean sport athletes (n = 36), non-lean sport athletes (n = 42) and non-athletes (n = 101). Results indicated that both sports groups were most influenced by sport specific body ideals. Correlation of body image and athletic uniforms was more influenced by the fit of the uniform than by the categorization of the sport. Both lean and non-lean sport group participants expressed dissatisfaction in pant fit. 3D body scans revealed similar body proportions and shape between sports groups. MBSRQ results indicated no significant difference between sports groups but higher body image scores in comparison to non-athletes.
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