Positive parenting and early puberty in girls: protective effects against aggressive behavior.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether positive parenting practices are associated with less aggressive and delinquent behavior in early-maturing girls.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
Interviews with a community sample of children and their caregivers were conducted in their homes or in a research setting.


METHODS
An ethnically diverse cohort of 330 fifth-grade girls (mean age, 11.25 years) from 3 metropolitan areas.


METHODS
Early onset of menarche, parental nurturance, knowledge of the child's activities, and communication.


METHODS
Physical, relational, and nonphysical aggression and delinquent behavior.


RESULTS
A total of 25% of girls could be reliably classified as early maturers. Early maturation was associated with delinquency (b = 0.53) but not aggression. Low levels of maternal nurturance were associated with delinquency and relational aggression (both b = -0.04). Early maturation was associated with higher relational aggression only at low levels of nurturance (b = 0.94), communication (b = 1.36), and knowledge (b = 1.06) (P < .05 for each interaction). Also, early maturation only predicted physical aggression when combined with low maternal nurturance (b = 0.93).


CONCLUSIONS
Early puberty is a risk factor for delinquency, and early puberty combined with low parental nurturance, communication, or parental knowledge of the child's activities presents a risk for aggressive behavior in early adolescent girls. Early-maturing girls may benefit from increased parental nurturance, communication, and knowledge.
Mrug
Sylvie
S
Departments of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 912 18th St South, Birmingham, AL 35294-1200, USA. sylva@uab.edu
Elliott
Marc
M
Gilliland
M Janice
MJ
Grunbaum
Jo Anne
JA
Tortolero
Susan R
SR
Cuccaro
Paula
P
Schuster
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016487:Parenting; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology