Research Review: On the (mis)use of puberty data in the ABCD Study® - a systematic review, problem illustration, and...

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development^SM (ABCD) Study® has significant potential to reveal the nature, causes, context, and consequences of pubertal development in diverse American youth. Optimal use of the data requires thoughtful consideration of puberty: how it is likely to affect psychological and neural development, and its measurement. We examined how ABCD puberty data have been used, and the relative advantages of two measures derived from the Pubertal Development Scale: the categorical measure provided in data releases and a continuous measure widely used outside ABCD.

First, we conducted a review of published studies using ABCD puberty data through December 2024, following PRISMA guidelines. Two independent raters coded the studies for key features. Second, we used data from ABCD baseline and the Year 1 follow-up to empirically compare the categorical and continuous measures in descriptives, reliability, sex differences, twin similarities, and examine correspondence.

Systematic review results from 190 reports showed that more studies considered puberty as a covariate (72%) than a variable of interest (28%), with 44% using the categorical measure from data releases and another 28% providing insufficient information to determine measurement. When puberty was a focus, there was variability in the use of youth versus parent-report and approach to missing data, and little attention to sex differences. Results from the empirical comparison showed advantages of the continuous over the categorical measure in data availability, developmental distributions, and reliability; they also confirmed the limited utility of youth-report in early puberty.

Results have crucial implications for the use of ABCD puberty data, especially early assessments. They highlight the complexity of studying pubertal influences on adolescent development and emphasize measurement. Attention to these issues will maximize the potential of ABCD to rigorously delineate the role of puberty in brain and behavioral development and to ultimately promote youth well-being.