title: Behavior problems and timing of menarche: a developmental longitudinal biometrical analysis using the NLSY-Children data.
abstract: A powerful longitudinal data source, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Children data, allows measurement of behavior problems (BP) within a developmental perspective linking them to menarcheal timing (MT). In a preliminary analysis, we evaluate the bivariate relationships between BP measured at different developmental periods and the timing of menarche. Correlations were not consistent with any correlational/causal relationship between BP and MT. In the major part of our study, MT was used to moderate the developmental trajectory of BP, within a genetically-informed design. Girls reaching menarche early had behavior problem variance accounted for by the shared environment; those reaching menarche with average/late timing had behavior problem differences accounted for by genetic variance. Our findings match previous empirical results in important ways, and also extend those results. A theoretical interpretation is offered in relation to a theory linking genetic/shared environmental variance to flexibility and choices available within the family in relation to BP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37204, USA, joseph.l.rodgers@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph Lee
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rodgers
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Van Hulle
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: D'Onofrio
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rathouz
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Beasley
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Irwin
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Waldman
authors.forename: Benjamin B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Lahey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001699:Biometry; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D002657:Child Development; D005006:Ethnicity; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008572:Menarche; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010641:Phenotype; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States