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.
N
= 110 girls (
M
age
= 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.
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.
In the past half‐century, developmentalists have produced a rich, diverse, and substantial literature on the psychology of puberty, establishing the transition from childhood to adolescence as one of the most pivotal phases of life. In this article, we identify three domains of research on puberty that are prime for new scientific inquiry: (a) hormones, (b) cohort trends, and (c) alternative measures and methods. Although these areas differ from each other in concept, scientific implementation, and ramifications for research, they are alike in their potential to advance developmental science and to strengthen theories, concepts, and understanding of this period of psychological change.
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