Psychiatric risk associated with early puberty in adolescent girls

This study prospectively evaluated the relationship between early puberty and the onset of internalizing symptoms and disorders in adolescent girls.

The sample was drawn from 1,463 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade girls who participated in a longitudinal school-based study of growth and development. Pubertal stage was determined by self-assessment of Tanner stage. Psychiatric assessments included self-report instruments and structured diagnostic interviews. Survival methods were utilized for data analysis.

Girls with onset of internalizing symptoms were on average 5 months earlier in pubertal development than those who were asymptomatic (p < .001). In addition, girls with earlier maturation (earliest quartile) were more likely to develop internalizing symptoms than were nonearly matures (hazard ratio = 1.8, confidence interval = 1.2, 2.7). In a subsample of girls followed into high school, early-maturing girls were at marginally higher risk (p < .10) for developing internalizing disorders by the study's end. The highest risk for internalizing disorders was for those girls with both early puberty and prior internalizing symptoms (odds ratio = 3.3).

Early puberty increases the risk of internalizing symptoms and perhaps internalizing disorders in adolescent girls.