The Impact of Asynchronous Pubertal Development on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood Among Females

Abstract

Puberty is accompanied by numerous psychological and interpersonal challenges, including a dramatic rise in the prevalence of depression among girls. Pubertal timing has been identified as a potent predictor of depressive symptoms among females, but less is known about other features of puberty. The present study sought to address this gap in the literature by examining the effect of pubertal synchrony, the degree to which morphological indicators of puberty develop concurrently, on depressive symptoms in adolescence and emerging adulthood in a longitudinal sample. Among 355 female participants, asynchronous development at age 13 was associated with increased depressive symptoms at age 20, but not age 15. Additional analyses indicated that pubertal timing moderated the association between synchrony and depressive symptoms at age 20, such that girls who exhibited asynchronous development had the highest levels of depressive symptoms when they matured later than peers. Results provide initial empirical support for the role of pubertal synchrony in the development of depression among females and are discussed with regard to the biopsychosocial processes that may connect features of puberty with the long-term development of psychopathology.

Do I Look Gawky? The Association between Pubertal Asynchrony and Peer Victimization

“…Pubertal asynchrony puts girls at risk of peer victimization above and beyond pubertal status and other covariates. The finding is consistent with prior work showing the positive link between pubertal asynchrony and maladjustment, such as depression, in girls (Stumper et al, 2020;Thompson et al, 2016). In explaining the association between pubertal asynchrony and psychopathology, Mendle [1] speculated that asynchronous youth might experience heightened confusion and uncertainty because each body part grows unpredictably at its own pace.…”

“…There are only two studies that we are aware of that empirically tested the effect of pubertal asynchrony on psychosocial adjustment, both of which focused on depressive symptoms. Thompson and colleagues [18] identified three groups of pubertal asynchrony patterns in a study of 13-year old girls: girls whose breast and pubic hair growth were synchronous (i.e., synchrony group), girls whose Tanner stage rating for pubic hair was greater than their Tanner stage rating for breast development (i.e., pubarche group), and girls whose Tanner stage rating for breast development was greater than their Tanner stage rating for pubic hair growth (i.e., thelarche group). The results showed that the synchronous group had fewer depressive symptoms at age 20 than the thelarche or pubarche groups, but no such association was found at age 15.…”

“…First, currently, there is a disconnect between theoretical and empirical work on pubertal synchrony and its psychosocial impact. Building on existing work [18,19], this study evaluated associations between pubertal asynchrony and peer victimization at age 11, a time at which youth are sensitive to peer victimization [10]. The following hypotheses were proposed: First, we expected that pubertal asynchrony would place youth at an increased risk for peer victimization, especially for girls.…”

Understanding Puberty and Its Measurement: Ideas for Research in a New Generation

“…Although research in pubertal synchrony has been limited, there has been some consideration of the correspondence between adrenal and gonadal indicators of development (Corley, Beltz, Wadsworth, & Berenbaum, ; Susman et al., ). Most notably, Thompson, Hammen, and Brennan () reported that asynchronous pubertal development in girls was associated more strongly with depression in late adolescence. Synchrony will be an important avenue for future work, especially because researchers often collapse across different puberty indicators, and the optimal statistical approaches for comparing and contrasting across indicators are still unclear.…”

Parenting Styles as a Moderator of the Association between Pubertal Timing and Chinese Adolescents’ Smoking Behavior

“…Puberty is the transitional stage between childhood and adulthood. It is one of the most critical developmental stages and is characterized by sexual maturation, both physiologically and psychologically [1]. Pubertal timing refers to individual differences in the timing of pubertal development [2].…”