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Self-Rated Pubertal Development, Depressive Symptoms and Delinquency: Measurement Issues and Moderation by Gender and Maltreatment

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Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined relationships between pubertal development, depressive symptoms and delinquency in a sample of 241 males and 213 females aged 9–13 years. Four objectives were set forth for this study: (1) to examine relationships between pubertal stage or timing and depressive symptoms and delinquency; (2) to compare continuous and categorical measures of pubertal timing; (3) to examine gender as a moderator of these relationships, and (4) to examine maltreatment as a moderator of these relationships. Results indicated that mature pubertal stage and early (continuous) pubertal timing were both related to higher delinquency whereas only early pubertal timing was related to depressive symptoms. Categorical timing was not related to depressive symptoms or delinquency. Neither gender nor maltreatment were found to be moderators. These findings provide evidence against equating pubertal stage, continuous timing, and categorical timing, and highlight the need to identify possible moderators in research on pubertal development.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funding from a National Institutes of Health R01 grant HD39129, Penelope K. Trickett P.I. We would like to thank Elizabeth J. Susman and Lorah D. Dorn for comments and advice on earlier drafts of this article. We would also like to acknowledge the YAP lab for support and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Sonya Negriff

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michelle T. Fung

  3. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Penelope K. Trickett

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  1. Sonya Negriff
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  2. Michelle T. Fung
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  3. Penelope K. Trickett
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Correspondence to Sonya Negriff.

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Negriff, S., Fung, M.T. & Trickett, P.K. Self-Rated Pubertal Development, Depressive Symptoms and Delinquency: Measurement Issues and Moderation by Gender and Maltreatment. J Youth Adolescence 37, 736–746 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9274-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9274-y

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