Puberty as a biological and social event: implications for research on pharmacology

Pubertal processes take place against a backdrop of multiple changes in other domains. How pubertal processes intersect with social events may place some adolescents at risk for a variety of health-related behaviors, such as substance use, eating problems and/or excessive levels of exercise, depressed affect, smoking, and drinking. All of these behaviors may influence compliance in a drug trial as well as the physiological response to a specific pharmacological treatment.