title: Secure Infant-Mother Attachment Buffers the Effect of Early-Life Stress on Age of Menarche.
abstract: Prior research indicates that being reared in stressful environments is associated with earlier onset of menarche in girls. In this research, we examined (a) whether these effects are driven by exposure to certain dimensions of stress (harshness or unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life and (b) whether the negative effects of stress on the timing of menarche are buffered by secure infant-mother attachment. Results revealed that (a) exposure to greater harshness (but not unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life predicted earlier menarche and (b) secure infant-mother attachment buffered girls from this effect of harsh environments. By connecting attachment research to its evolutionary foundations, these results illuminate how environmental stressors and relationships early in life jointly affect pubertal timing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota sungx077@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Sooyeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Jeffry A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Vladas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Griskevicius
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University.
authors.forename: Sally I-Chun
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology, University at Albany, State University of New York.
authors.forename: Gabriel L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Schlomer
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Belsky
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008572:Menarche / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: adolescent development; evolutionary psychology; relationship quality; stress reactions