Quality of early family relationships and the timing and tempo of puberty: effects depend on biological sensitivity to context.
Guided by evolutionary-developmental theories of biological sensitivity to context and reproductive development, the current research examined the interactive effects of early family environments and psychobiologic reactivity to stress on the subsequent timing and tempo of puberty. As predicted by the theory, among children displaying heightened biological sensitivity to context (i.e., higher stress reactivity), higher quality parent-child relationships forecast slower initial pubertal tempo and later pubertal timing, whereas lower quality parent-child relationships forecast the opposite pattern. No such effects emerged among less context-sensitive children. Whereas sympathetic nervous system reactivity moderated the effects of parent-child relationships on both breast/genital and pubic hair development, adrenocortical activation only moderated the effect on pubic hair development. The current results build on previous research documenting what family contexts predict variation in pubertal timing by demonstrating for whom those contexts matter. In addition, the authors advance a new methodological approach for assessing pubertal tempo using piecewise growth curve analysis.
John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Arizona, McClelland Park, 650 North Park Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0078, USA. bjellis@email.arizona.edu
Bruce J
BJ
Ellis
Elizabeth A
EA
Shirtcliff
W Thomas
WT
Boyce
Julianna
J
Deardorff
Marilyn J
MJ
Essex
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008572:Menarche / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Mar;1098:122-44
17332070
Pediatrics. 2010 Sep;126(3):e583-90
20696727
Dev Neurosci. 2009;31(4):300-8
19546567
Dev Psychopathol. 2005 Spring;17(2):271-301
16761546
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2001 Nov;25(5 Suppl):S102-8
11682284
Horm Res. 1998;49(# Suppl 2):41-57
9716827
Child Dev. 1991 Aug;62(4):647-70
1935336
Dev Psychopathol. 2011 Feb;23(1):7-28
21262036
Endocr Rev. 2000 Feb;21(1):55-89
10696570
Child Dev. 2004 May-Jun;75(3):797-814
15144487
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1995 Jul-Aug;4(5):567-71
7549816
Dev Psychopathol. 2011 Feb;23(1):69-83
21262040
Endocr Regul. 2008 Sep;42(4):111-9
18999898
Psychophysiology. 1994 Nov;31(6):586-98
7846219
Hum Nat. 2009 Jun;20(2):204-68
25526958
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006 Dec;45(12):1510-20
17135997
Child Dev. 2007 Jul-Aug;78(4):1302-21
17650140
Dev Psychol. 2000 Mar;36(2):180-9
10749075
Acta Paediatr. 2004 Jul;93(7):874-9
15303800
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1998 May 1;840:664-73
9629293
Arch Dis Child. 1969 Jun;44(235):291-303
5785179
Horm Res. 2002;57 Suppl 2:2-14
12065920
J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia. 2002 Jan;7(1):3-15
12160084
Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 1991 Mar;20(1):71-83
2029889
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2007 Jun;48(6):580-91
17537074
BMC Public Health. 2007 Apr 12;7:54
17430580
Int J Epidemiol. 2009 Feb;38(1):245-52
19188208
Psychophysiology. 1994 Jul;31(4):412-9
10690921
Psychol Bull. 1992 Jan;111(1):62-107
1539089
Dev Psychol. 2008 Sep;44(5):1409-20
18793072
J Pediatr. 2006 Feb;148(2):234-40
16492435
J Adolesc Health. 2007 Jul;41(1):102-4
17577541
Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1999 Jan;99(1):16-25
10066003
Eur J Pediatr. 2007 Jun;166(6):595-600
17102974
Dev Psychobiol. 2003 Jan;42(1):64-78
12471637
Acta Oncol. 1994;33(2):171-6
8204271
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Jun;86(6):2513-7
11397848
Hum Nat. 1996 Mar;7(1):1-37
24203250
Neuroimage. 2009 Sep;47(3):864-71
19500680
Pediatrics. 2008 Feb;121 Suppl 3:S172-91
18245511
Dev Psychopathol. 2005 Spring;17(2):303-28
16761547
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007 Apr;88 Suppl 1:S50-9
17275214
Arch Dis Child. 1970 Feb;45(239):13-23
5440182
Hum Nat. 2009 Mar 1;20(1):25-51
20634914
Child Dev. 2009 Mar-Apr;80(2):327-37
19466995
Pediatrics. 2005 Dec;116(6):1451-6
16322170
J Youth Adolesc. 1980 Jun;9(3):271-80
24318082
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1989 Jul;69(1):77-83
2525135
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010 Jan;35(1):179-91
19362426
Psychol Bull. 2004 May;130(3):355-91
15122924
Ann Behav Med. 2000 Summer;22(3):171-9
11211850
Psychol Bull. 2004 Nov;130(6):920-58
15535743
Acta Paediatr. 2008 Feb;97(2):217-20
18177444
Psychophysiology. 1995 Jul;32(4):301-18
7652107
Epidemiol Rev. 1993;15(1):36-47
8405211
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999 Aug;77(2):387-401
10474213
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009 May;34(4):486-96
19249160
Pediatrics. 2008 Feb;121 Suppl 3:S218-30
18245514
Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2007 Dec;34(4):687-700, viii
18061864
Dev Psychol. 2004 Nov;40(6):1188-98
15535766
J Youth Adolesc. 1988 Apr;17(2):117-33
24277579
Psychol Bull. 2009 Nov;135(6):885-908
19883141
Child Dev. 1995 Apr;66(2):346-59
7750370
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2006 Sep;31(8):976-87
16879926
Child Dev. 2007 Nov-Dec;78(6):1799-817
17988322
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Oct 14;105(41):15825-30
18838685
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009 Aug;34(7):953-67
19321267
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2002 May;41(5):580-7
12014791
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Dec;94(12):4953-60
19880785
Psychol Med. 2003 Jul;33(5):933-9
12877408
J Adolesc Health. 1994 Jun;15(4):327-35
7918506