A biopsychosocial exploration of early pubertal timing effects on adolescent psychopathology: Are Personality Traits and Neurocognitive Mechanisms the Missing Links?

Some adolescents who go through puberty earlier than their peers are at increased risk for mental health problems. This dissertation examined adolescent personality traits as a potential reason why some early-developing youth experience problems while others do not. The current study also examined how youth think and feel about going through puberty early, as well as how parents, teachers, and peers might respond socially to more physically-mature adolescents.

Results indicated that early-developers who are also more outgoing are more likely to display increased aggression and experiment with rule-breaking behaviors. Similarly, early-developing male (but not female) adolescents who are also less agreeable tend to be at risk for increased aggression and rule-breaking behaviors. Therefore, knowing more about personality traits among youth with early pubertal timing may provide a target for clinicians and pediatricians to provide help to youth and their families.

Additionally, the current study found that how youth perceive and cope with stress associated with their early pubertal maturation is a predictor of adolescent anxiety and depression, such that youth who feel more distressed about their changing bodies are also more likely to be at risk for these emotional problems. Similarly, early-adolescents who are distressed by others’ comments on their advanced physical development, and those who spend increased time with older peers, are at greater risk for aggression and rule-breaking behaviors. Importantly, understanding how youth perceive and socially manage their early development will help provide support for adolescents (and their parents) as they transition through puberty.