Behavioral correlates of physical and neuromotor maturity in adolescents from different environments

The relationship between neuropsychological performance (sequencing and visuospatial processing) and neuromotor and physical maturity was investigated among ninety 14- and 15-year-old boys selected from 3 socioeconomic backgrounds: upper middle class, white collar, and blue collar. Sequencing was measured by the Stroop Word and Color Test and by stability of rhythmic finger tapping; visuospatial processing was measured by a locomotor mazes task. We had predicted that rate of maturation would be correlated positively with sequencing and negatively with visuospatial performance independent of socioeconomic background. The correlations between neuropsychological performance and maturational status were in the directions predicted, but the appearance of these relationships was not independent of socioeconomic status. In the upper middle class group, visuospatial processing was negatively related to physical maturity; in the white collar group, motor sequencing was positively related to physical maturity; and in the blue collar group, all the sequencing measures were positively related to neuromotor maturity.