Reward sensitivity and internalizing symptoms during the transition to puberty: An examination of 9-and 10-year-olds in the ABCD Study

Early pubertal timing has been linked to increased risk for internalizing disorders. Work in older adolescents and adults suggests that heightened reward sensitivity may buffer risk for internalizing symptoms, but few studies have investigated these associations during the early transition to puberty, a window of vulnerability to mental health risk. In this preregistered study, we investigated the associations among pubertal timing, internalizing symptoms, and reward sensitivity in 11,243 9-10 year-olds from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®. Using split-half analysis, we tested hypothesized effects across two subsets of the sample (Sample 1 N=5,631 ; Sample 2 N=5,612). Across samples, early pubertal timing was associated with higher internalizing symptoms in females and males, with highest symptoms evident in mid-pubertal adolescents. Additionally, early pubertal timing was robustly associated with greater self-reported reward sensitivity in both females and males. We observed preliminary evidence of a moderating role of self-reported and neural reward sensitivity in the association between early pubertal timing and internalizing symptoms, but several of these effects differed by sex, and no moderation effects replicated across samples. Together, these findings provide novel insights into early indicators of risk for internalizing disorders during the transition to puberty.

Parenting Styles as a Moderator of the Association between Pubertal Timing and Chinese Adolescents’ Smoking Behavior

Background: Pubertal timing refers to the timing of an individual regarding pubertal sexual maturation, both physiologically and psychologically. Existing research shows that pubertal timing is associated with behavioral problems. This study investigated the role of parenting style in the relationship between pubertal timing and Chinese adolescents’ smoking behavior. Methods: The study examined the association of pubertal timing, parenting style and adolescents’ smoking behavior, using the Pubertal Development Scale (Chinese version), Simplified Parenting Style Scale-Chinese version, and three items related to adolescents’ smoking situation. Participants were 1391 Chinese adolescents aged 11–16 years old (53.41% boys). Hierarchical linear regression analyses assessed the moderating role of parenting style on the association between pubertal timing and adolescent smoking behavior. Results: The results indicated that parenting style moderates the relationship between pubertal timing and adolescent smoking behavior. For male adolescents, father rejection moderated the relationship between early pubertal timing and smoking behavior. For female adolescents, father rejection, father emotional warmth, and mother emotional warmth moderated the relationship between pubertal timing and smoking behavior. Conclusions: Findings from the study highlight the importance of parenting style, which may influence the negative outcomes associated with early pubertal timing and can help improve interventions aimed at reducing these negative outcomes.

The Role of Pubertal Timing in the Development of Peer Victimization and Offending From Early- to Mid-Adolescence

We used latent growth curve analysis to extend research on associations between early puberty and adverse peer relations by examining the role of pubertal timing in the developmental trajectories of peer victimization and offending from early- to mid-adolescence. We made use of three-wave longitudinal data collected annually from a cohort of Swedish adolescents ( N = 1,515, 51% girls, [Formula: see text]age at T1 = 13.0 years). The results revealed negative developmental trends for peer victimization and offending. Early pubertal timing was linked to higher initial levels and a steeper decrease of peer victimization and offending. The only effect of pubertal timing that differed between the genders was that the initial level of offending was stronger for boys than girls. In conclusion, the negative impact of early pubertal timing on peer victimization and offending occurs in the early stages of adolescence and disappears thereafter.

Childhood adversity, pubertal timing and self-harm: a longitudinal cohort study

Background The occurrence of early childhood adversity is strongly linked to later self-harm, but there is poor understanding of how this distal risk factor might influence later behaviours. One possible mechanism is through an earlier onset of puberty in children exposed to adversity, since early puberty is associated with an increased risk of adolescent self-harm. We investigated whether early pubertal timing mediates the association between childhood adversity and later self-harm. Methods Participants were 6698 young people from a UK population-based birth cohort (ALSPAC). We measured exposure to nine types of adversity from 0 to 9 years old, and self-harm when participants were aged 16 and 21 years. Pubertal timing measures were age at peak height velocity (aPHV – males and females) and age at menarche (AAM). We used generalised structural equation modelling for analyses. Results For every additional type of adversity; participants had an average 12–14% increased risk of self-harm by 16. Relative risk (RR) estimates were stronger for direct effects when outcomes were self-harm with suicidal intent. There was no evidence that earlier pubertal timing mediated the association between adversity and self-harm [indirect effect RR 1.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–1.00 for aPHV and RR 1.00, 95% CI 1.00–1.01 for AAM]. Conclusions A cumulative measure of exposure to multiple types of adversity does not confer an increased risk of self-harm via early pubertal timing, however both childhood adversity and early puberty are risk factors for later self-harm. Research identifying mechanisms underlying the link between childhood adversity and later self-harm is needed to inform interventions.

The Role of Pubertal Timing and Heterosocial Involvement in Early Adolescents’ Media Internalization: A Moderated Moderation Analysis

The present three-wave panel study ( N = 968, [Formula: see text] = 11.30, SD = 1.06) examines how developmental factors—pubertal timing and heterosocial involvement (i.e., one’s involvement in cross-sex activities)—influence early adolescents’ level of media internalization. We hypothesized that early pubertal timing positively moderates the association between sexualizing magazine reading and media internalization. Next, we argued that increased heterosocial involvement will weaken the amplifying influence of early pubertal timing on the aforementioned relationship. Both hypotheses were confirmed. For early adolescents who mature earlier than same-age/sex peers, reading sexualizing magazines resulted in more media internalization. Furthermore, our results showed that moderate to high cross-sex peer interactions can serve as a protective force against the negative influence of early pubertal timing. These results highlight the influential role of appearance-related developmental factors in the processing of sexualizing magazine content and point to the potential protective role of cross-sex peer interactions in media internalization.