Sexual Orientation, Pubertal Timing, Inhibitory Control, and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: A Birth Cohort Study

We examined the association between sexual orientation at age 15.5 years and depressive symptoms at age 17 years and whether this association was explained by a path involving earlier pubertal timing leading to worse inhibitory control at age 15.5 years using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. A total number of 5,125 adolescents were included (46.65% adolescent males and 87.38% White). Age at peak height velocity was derived from multiple height assessments annually from childhood to adolescence and used as an objective measure of pubertal timing. We found that adolescents who were unsure of their sexual orientation did not differ statistically significantly from their heterosexual counterparts in either pubertal timing or depressive symptoms. Sexual minority adolescents reported both earlier pubertal timing and more depressive symptoms than heterosexual adolescents. Sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms could potentially be explained by earlier pubertal timing reported by sexual minority adolescents than heterosexual adolescents, but not by the indirect path through earlier pubertal timing leading to worse inhibitory control. The results were consistent across both sexes, suggesting that pubertal timing makes a small contribution to sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms.