A comparison of self-reported puberty using the Pubertal Development Scale and the Sexual Maturation Scale in a school-based epidemiologic survey.
OBJECTIVE
To examine concordance between two self-reported measures of puberty: Sexual Maturation Scale (SMS) and Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) and their acceptability to adolescents.


METHODS
Participants of a school-based study in grades 5, 7 and 9 were classified into one of 5 pubertal stages using each method.


RESULTS
2864 students (age 9-16 years) participated. Agreement was moderate for males (kappa 0.42, 95% CI 0.39, 0.45) and females (kappa 0.57, 95% CI 0.53, 0.61). Concordance within one stage was excellent (females 97%, males 89%), with discrepancies due to females being classified one stage later on the PDS (26%) and males one stage earlier (32%). There were more missing data for the SMS (13%) than the PDS (4%).


CONCLUSIONS
Given the level of concordance and difficulties of using the drawings in a school-based survey, we would recommend the PDS as an alternative to assess pubertal status in epidemiological studies.
Bond
Lyndal
L
Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, 2 Gatehouse Street, Parkville 3052 VIC, Australia. lyndal.bond@rch.org.au
Clements
Jackie
J
Bertalli
Nadine
N
Evans-Whipp
Tracy
T
McMorris
Barbara J
BJ
Patton
George C
GC
Toumbourou
John W
JW
Catalano
Richard F
RF
D000293:Adolescent; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010827:Physiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011627:Puberty; D012574:Schools; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology