Interactive Effects of Psychosocial Stress and Early Pubertal Timing on Youth Depression and Anxiety: Contextual Amplification in Family and Peer Environments

Abstract

While off-time pubertal development has emerged as a potential risk factor for both symptoms of depression and anxiety in youth, the literature is mixed and inconsistent as to (1) how early versus late pubertal timing confers risk for both boys and girls, (2) if the conferred risk is distinct between symptoms of anxiety and depression, and (3) under what social contexts (e.g., family environment, peer relationships) off-time pubertal development may emerge as a potent risk factor for these symptoms. The present study examined the impact of perceived pubertal timing on symptoms of anxiety and depression in two distinct psychosocial contexts: parent’s perceptions of their own harsh parenting and parent’s perceptions of their child’s peer problems. The sample consisted of 412 parents (M = 38.6 years old, SD = 7.8, 60.4% mothers) of children between the ages of eight and seventeen (M = 12.13, SD = 2.97, 45.4% girls). All constructs were assessed by parent reports. Linear multiple regression analyses revealed that the interaction between earlier pubertal timing and greater peer problems was significantly related to higher youth depressive and anxiety symptoms. The interaction between earlier pubertal timing and greater harsh discipline was significantly related to higher youth anxiety but not depressive symptoms. Youth gender did not qualify findings. Results suggest that the contextual amplification process of early pubertal timing may occur in both high stress family and peer environments and impact both girls and boys.

Higher Executive Control Network Coherence Buffers Against Puberty-Related Increases in Internalizing Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…As we hypothesized, adolescents who were in more advanced stages of puberty reported larger increases in internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 crisis. Girls and boys who experience earlier pubertal maturation have been found to be at heightened risk for developing internalizing psychopathology ( 17 , 20 , 21 ), potentially through interacting biological (e.g., hormonal sensitivity) and psychosocial (e.g., peer sensitivity) processes ( 22 , 24 , 29 , 79 , 80 ). Further, early-maturing adolescents have been shown to exhibit heightened reactivity to stressful situations occurring after puberty ( 24 ), suggesting that precocious development is a risk factor for dysregulated stress responses and negative emotionality even after the pubertal phase.…”

“…For example, early-maturing adolescents who experience stressful events (vs. those who do not) are more vulnerable to depressive symptoms ( 26 ). In addition, high-stress contexts related to peer and family relationships, as well as neighborhood quality (e.g., crime and lower resources), have been found to amplify the association between early pubertal maturation and psychopathology ( 27 , 28 , 29 ). It is clear, however, that more research is needed to examine protective factors that may buffer against the negative effects of advanced pubertal staging.…”

Early Pubertal Timing and Childhood Family Adversity Interact to Predict Newlywed Women’s Anxiety Symptoms

“…The key role of adverse environments as a moderator of early pubertal timing effects is emphasized by the contextual amplification hypothesis (e.g., Ge, Brody, Conger, Simons, & Murry, 2002; Ge & Natsuaki, 2009; Negriff & Susman, 2011; Winer et al, 2015). Our study tested a novel application of the contextual amplification hypothesis with an understudied sample of newlywed women for three primary reasons, all aimed at further informing the development of, and highlighting potential intervention targets for, women’s psychological health problems.…”

“…In this view, early developing girls are likely to be in need of a supportive and protective social environment to help them cope successfully with the added stress of the maturation gap (Mendle, Leve, Van Ryzin, & Natsuaki, 2013; Sontag, Graber, Brooks-Gunn, & Warren, 2008). Thus, although early pubertal timing alone is not a consistent predictor of concurrent or later anxiety and/or depression symptoms for girls, early puberty is a potent risk factor for anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescence when it occurs within stressful social contexts (e.g., Negriff & Susman, 2011; Rudolph & Troop-Gordon, 2010; Winer, Parent, Forehand, & Bresland, 2015). …”

Disentangling vulnerabilities from outcomes: Distinctions between trait affect and depressive symptoms in adolescent and adult samples

“…These developmental differences in depression prevalence are likely due to complex and constantly shifting differences between adolescent and adult populations that cannot be fully addressed by the scope of our work, including pubertal changes in the transition to adulthood (27, 28) and an individual’s negative cognitive style, which demonstrates distinct trajectories across adolescence that are impacted by factors including maternal parenting and cognitive style, biological sex, and temperament (29). Given the roles of high NA and low PA in consolidating risk to depression from adolescence into adulthood, we examined the relationships between trait affect and depressive symptoms among a sample of adolescents and a sample of young adults to (a) compare developmental periods of lower versus higher vulnerability to depressive symptoms and (b) examine whether NA and PA represented distinct constructs from the trait-like qualities of depressive symptoms.…”