The Role of Puberty in Violent and Nonviolent Delinquency among Anglo American, Mexican American, and African American Boys

Cota-Robles, Sonia; Neiss, Michelle B.; Rowe, David C.

doi:10.1177/07458402017004003

Cited by 46 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Findings indicate that early timing and advanced status for age are associated with a greater likelihood of risk behavior for both boys and girls, and that these associations, although sometimes attenuated, have implications for adult health and adjustment (e.g., Graber et al, 2004;Stattin & Magnusson, 1990). Problematic outcomes include externalizing behaviors such as delinquency and aggression (Cota-Robles et al, 2002;Haynie, 2003), depression (Graber et al, 2004;Kaltiala-Heinon et al, 2003;Wiesner & Ittel, 2002), substance use (e.g., Lanza & Collins, 2002;Wiesner & Ittel, 2002), eating disorders (KaltialaHeino et al, 2001), and early sexual transition (Cavanagh, 2004). However, patterns of associations with various types of risk behavior are not always consistent across studies, probably due to variations in measures of pubertal timing and status (Dorn et al, 2003) and a wide range of potential moderating influences such as parenting style and school gender composition (Caspi et al, 1993;Ge et al, 2001;.…”

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confidence: 96%

Perceived Physical Maturity, Age of Romantic Partner, and Adolescent Risk Behavior

2006

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Early pubertal timing and advanced physical maturity for age confer elevated risk for problem behaviors for both boys and girls. However, examinations of possible biological and social mediators have been limited. Using more than 4,000 adolescents under age 15 who participated in Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we examined the relationship between perceived physical maturity and membership in risk behavior clusters, and tested whether having a romantic partner mediates the maturity/risk behavior relationship. Results of multinomial regression models indicated that for both boys and girls, advanced physical maturity was associated with membership in higher risk clusters, and that having a romantic partner plays an important mediating role in this association. For females, the additional impact of having an older partner, versus any partner at all, was substantial and particularly important for the highest risk clusters. The role of partner age could not be tested for males. Because romantic partners elevate risk for young adolescent males and females, there is a need to identify and understand facets and developmental functions of adolescent romantic relationships that play a role in substance use and sexual decisions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Perceived Physical Maturity, Age of Romantic Partner, and Adolescent Risk Behavior

2006

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“…Specifically, recent studies have demonstrated that early pubertal timing (i.e., going through puberty earlier than one's peers) is associated with higher rates of engagement in aggressive and delinquent behaviors [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Likewise, association with delinquent peers has been identified as not only a pathway to aggression and delinquency more generally [2], but also as a factor that may potentially mediate the effects of pubertal timing on aggression and delinquency [5,10].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Numerous investigations have found early pubertal timing to be a risk for externalizing problems [2,4,5,7,9,[14][15][16]. However, most research has examined Non-Hispanic White, middle-class adolescents with a few exceptions [4,5,8].…”

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Links between Pubertal Timing, Peer Influences, and Externalizing Behaviors among Urban Students Followed Through Middle School

Lynne

Graber

Nichols

et al. 2007

Journal of Adolescent Health

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Purpose-Early pubertal maturation has been linked to higher rates of aggressive and delinquent behaviors among white, middle class females. Less is known about this association for males, minorities, or among adolescents from urban communities. The aim of this paper is to evaluate underlying mechanisms of the association between early pubertal timing and both aggression and delinquency among a sample of minority, males and females from an urban community.Methods-The association between perceived early pubertal maturation and aggressive or delinquent behaviors for African American and Latino males and females (n = 1366) was examined as well as pathways between early maturation and these negative outcomes longitudinally across 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grades.Results-Early maturers reported higher mean levels of both aggression and delinquency at all time points regardless of gender or ethnicity. Associating with delinquent peers in 6 th grade fully mediated the association between early maturation and both aggression and delinquency at all time points. Early maturers did not differentially associate with greater numbers of delinquent peers in either 7 th or 8 th grade.Conclusions-These results provide valuable information regarding at-risk groups and inform future intervention efforts.Both aggression and delinquency escalate during middle school (i.e., 6 th -8 th grade, approximately ages 11-14) and peak at age 16 for both males and females [1][2][3]. To date,

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“…These predictions are based on positive associations between testosterone and adolescent and child problem behaviors (Bauman, Foshee, Koch, Haley, & Downton, 1989;Dabbs, Jurkovic, & Frady, 1991;Finkelstein et al, 1997;Susman et al, 1998), estradiol and adolescent problem behaviors and affective problems (Inoff-Germain et al., 1988), and pubertal status and adolescent problem behaviors (Ge, Conger, & Elder, 2001;Magnusson, Stattin, & Allen, 1986;Resnick et al, 1997;Silbereisen, Petersen, Albrecht, & Kracke, 1989). Studies also have found that early maturing adolescents are more involved in problem behaviors than adolescents who are on time or late in pubertal development (Cota-Robles, Neiss, & Rowe, 2002;Dick, Rose, Viken, & Kaprio, 2000;Flannery, Rowe, & Gulley, 1993;Halpern, Udry, Campbell, & Suchindran, 1993). We propose, further, that family, peer, school, and neighborhood contexts will moderate the associations between the biological factors and adolescent involvement with cigarettes and alcohol.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Test of Biosocial Models of Adolescent Cigarette and Alcohol Involvement

Foshee

Ennett

Bauman

et al. 2007

The Journal of Early Adolescence

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We tested biosocial models that posit interactions between biological variables (testosterone, estradiol, pubertal status, and pubertal timing) and social context variables (family, peer, school, and neighborhood) in predicting adolescent involvement with cigarettes and alcohol in a sample of 409 adolescents in grades 6 and 8. Models including the biological and contextual variables and their interactions explained significantly more variance in adolescent cigarette and alcohol involvement than did models including only the main effects of the biological and contextual variables. Post-hoc analyses of significant interactions suggested that, in most case, moderation occurred in the hypothesized direction. Consistent with dual hazards models of adolescent antisocial behaviors, the relationships between the biological and substance use variables became positive and stronger as the context became more harmful. Considerations of adolescent substance use, and perhaps other problem behaviors, should recognize the possible role of biological variables and how their influence may vary by social context. Keywordshormones; adolescent cigarette use; adolescent alcohol use; biosocial models Research on adolescent problem behaviors has largely been limited to examining the influence of psychological and social factors. However, several theoretical perspectives suggest that biological factors also play a role in the development of adolescent problem behaviors (Flay & Petraitis, 1994;Huba, Wingard, & Bentler, 1980;Jessor, 1991). Collectively, these theories suggest the need to consider biological, psychological, and social factors together to better understand problem behaviors that begin and accelerate during early adolescence. Moreover, they emphasize that individuals are embedded in social contexts and that there is dynamic interaction between the contexts and biological factors. However, most research does not simultaneously consider both contextual and biological variables. In this study, we consider the interaction of biological factors and social contexts as they relate to adolescent involvement with cigarettes and alcohol. The biological variables NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript to be examined include hormonal processes and characteristics of pubertal development. The social contexts considered include family, peers, school, and neighborhood, which are considered key contexts in the lives of adolescents (Bronfenbrenner, 1979;Brooks-Gunn, 1987). Our hypotheses are guided by dual-hazards models of antisocial behavior which propose that a biological propensity for antisocial behavior will be exacerbated in harmful social contexts.The hormones examined are testosterone for both boys and girls, and estradiol for girls. Testosterone and estradiol are sex steroids from two endocrine groups: androgens (testosterone) and estrogens (estradiol). They are responsible for the sexual maturation changes associated with puberty that typically begin around age 11 for girls and age 12 fo...

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The Role of Puberty in Violent and Nonviolent Delinquency among Anglo American, Mexican American, and African American Boys

Cited by 46 publications

References 21 publications

Perceived Physical Maturity, Age of Romantic Partner, and Adolescent Risk Behavior

Perceived Physical Maturity, Age of Romantic Partner, and Adolescent Risk Behavior

Links between Pubertal Timing, Peer Influences, and Externalizing Behaviors among Urban Students Followed Through Middle School

A Test of Biosocial Models of Adolescent Cigarette and Alcohol Involvement

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