title: Peer Group Similarity in Perceptions of Pubertal Timing.
abstract: Self-report measures of perceived pubertal timing correspond only weakly with clinical measures of "objective" physical development. Peer and school contexts shape adolescents' self-perceptions of pubertal timing. The current study examined associations between perceived pubertal timing and the pubertal timing reported by nominated friends and schoolmates. Participants included 2817 adolescents (Mage = 16.6; 49 % female; 16 % Black; 20 % Hispanic) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Three measures of pubertal timing were included: age-standardized ratings of body changes, comparisons of development relative to peers (relative timing), and, in females, age at menarche. It was hypothesized that relative timing, which explicitly asks adolescents to compare themselves to their peers, would be related to the age-standardized pubertal timing of nominated friends and schoolmates. Surprisingly, there were no associations between relative timing and age-standardized pubertal timing reported by peers, suggesting that pubertal self-perceptions do not fluctuate in response to the average level of development in a friend group. Instead, males were similar to nominated friends and schoolmates in age-standardized ratings of body changes, and females were similar to nominated friends in relative timing, controlling for race, ethnicity, and age. Different self-report measures of pubertal timing index different underlying constructs, and the social processes that influence adolescents' perceptions of pubertal maturation may differ between genders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton Stop #A8000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. natalie.kretsch@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kretsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, Martha van Rensselaer Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mendle
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station D3700, Bellmont Hall 222, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica Duncan
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Cance
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton Stop #A8000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.|Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton Stop #A8000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn Paige
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Harden
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063588:National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; D010379:Peer Group; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Measurement; Peers; Pubertal timing; Puberty
references.citation: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000 May;39(5):603-10
references.pmid: 10802978
references.citation: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2004 Jun;43(6):718-26
references.pmid: 15167088
references.citation: Mem Cognit. 2006 Jan;34(1):138-47
references.pmid: 16686113
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 1997 Feb;65(1):130-40
references.pmid: 9103742
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2006 Jan;132(1):98-131
references.pmid: 16435959
references.citation: J Youth Adolesc. 1988 Apr;17(2):117-33
references.pmid: 24277579
references.citation: Endocr Rev. 2003 Oct;24(5):668-93
references.pmid: 14570750
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007 Apr;88 Suppl 1:S50-9
references.pmid: 17275214
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2012 Nov;45(7):819-26
references.pmid: 22522282
references.citation: Horm Behav. 2013 Jul;64(2):250-61
references.pmid: 23998669
references.citation: Acta Paediatr. 2012 Aug;101(8):868-72
references.pmid: 22537049
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2008 Sep;27(5):1382-7
references.pmid: 18571258
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2002 Nov;110(5):911-9
references.pmid: 12415029
references.citation: Acta Paediatr. 1996 May;85(5):570-6
references.pmid: 8827101
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2002 Oct;110(4):743-7
references.pmid: 12359788
references.citation: J Youth Adolesc. 2011 Oct;40(10):1394-406
references.pmid: 21088874
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2010;61:517-42
references.pmid: 19534589
references.citation: Dev Rev. 2007 Jun;27(2):151-171
references.pmid: 20740062
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2009 Spring;21(2):593-620
references.pmid: 19338700
references.citation: J Adolesc. 1996 Oct;19(5):429-42
references.pmid: 9245296
references.citation: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997 Dec;36(12):1768-76
references.pmid: 9401339
references.citation: J Res Adolesc. 2011 Mar 1;21(1):166-179
references.pmid: 23730122
references.citation: J Res Adolesc. 2016 Mar 1;26(1):45-59
references.pmid: 27026753
references.citation: Child Dev. 2009 Mar-Apr;80(2):327-37
references.pmid: 19466995
references.citation: Ann Hum Biol. 1991 Mar-Apr;18(2):155-66
references.pmid: 2024949
references.citation: J Youth Adolesc. 2012 Jun;41(6):764-75
references.pmid: 21983873
references.citation: Body Image. 2009 Jun;6(3):201-6
references.pmid: 19447692
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2014 Jun;50(6):1734-45
references.pmid: 24588522