title: Ethnic differences in the association between pubertal status and symptoms of depression in adolescent girls.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the importance of chronologic age versus pubertal status in predicting adolescent girls' depressive symptoms in different ethnic groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  A national probability sample was used to obtain a representative cohort of 3216 adolescents, 5th through 8th grades. Subjects completed a questionnaire, which included a modified version of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and an assessment of timing of menarche.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among Caucasians, post-menarcheal adolescent girls had higher depression scores than did same-aged pre-menarcheal girls. Boys and pre-menarcheal girls had similar depression scores in most age groups. Among African-Americans and Hispanics, there were no menarche-associated differences in depressive symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In early adolescence pubertal status is a better predictor of depressive symptoms than chronological age in Caucasian, but not African-American or Hispanic girls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, California 94305-5542, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Gotlib
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Schraedley
authors.forename: I F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Litt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data