Childhood stress, behavioural symptoms and mother-daughter pubertal development

Early Age at Menarche and Allostatic Load: Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

PURPOSE

To examine whether there is an association between early age at menarche and allostatic load-a measure of cumulative biologic risk-using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

METHODS

A total of 2470 (weighted N=25,544,838) women aged between 17 and 30 years with interview and examination data who did not report oral contraceptive use before menarche and were not missing data on the exposure or outcome were included. Early menarche was defined as menarche at age 10 or younger. The allostatic load score was the sum of the number of 11 components for which an individual had a value within the high-risk range.

RESULTS

The prevalence of early menarche was 7%. Although the overall allostatic load scores were low when compared with older adults, the mean allostatic load score was higher among those with menarche at ages 10 or younger compared with those with later ages at menarche (1.99 vs. 1.33). After adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, level of education, household poverty income ratio, smoking, and depression history, women with high allostatic load scores had more than 2 times the odds as those with low scores of experiencing menarche at age 10 or earlier (OR=2.18; 95% CI, 1.29-3.68).

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to report and examine the relationship between age at menarche and allostatic load. Future studies involving prospective measurement of allostatic load biomarkers may prove essential for disentangling the association between allostatic load and early age at menarche.

Pubertal neuromaturation, stress sensitivity, and psychopathology

Normal adolescent development is often accompanied by transient emotional and behavioral problems. For most individuals with postpubertal-onset adjustment problems, there is a resolution by early adulthood and relative stability through the adult life span. But for a minority, adjustment problems escalate during adolescence and portend the development of serious mental illness in adulthood. In this article, we explore adolescent behavioral changes and neurodevelopmental processes that might contribute to stress sensitivity and vulnerability for the emergence of the mental disorders. Of particular interest is the role that hormonal changes might play in the expression of genetic vulnerabilities for psychopathology. Drawing on recent findings from clinical research and behavioral neuroscience, we describe the ways in which postpubertal hormones might alter brain function and, thereby, behavior. It is concluded that there are both activational and organization effects of hormones on the adolescent brain, and these contribute to developmental discontinuities in behavioral adjustment. Implications for adult psychopathology and preventive intervention are discussed.

Childhood sexual abuse and early menarche: the direction of their relationship and its implications

PURPOSE

A relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and early menarche previously has been proposed and psychobiological mechanisms for the association have been suggested. Because it has serious implications for many disciplines, we attempted to confirm that association and explore its direction, first with hypothesis 1: the negative relationship between pubertal age and CSA is based on victims' increased target gratifiability at ages of high target vulnerability, and then with hypothesis 2: CSA and circumstances surrounding it are related causally to early menarche.

METHODS

African-American and multi-ethnic Caucasian women (N = 323) were interviewed at several women's clinics at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center; 64 women reported premenarcheal abuse. We assessed (1) ages of CSA and menarche to determine their relationships, (2) household characteristics and their relationships with CSA, (3) variables associated with CSA, to determine the independent effect of CSA and explore potential dose response (i.e., effects of increased stress).

RESULTS

CSA and menarcheal age are related negatively (p < .05). Hypothesis 1 need not be rejected totally, but with most CSA events occurring long before puberty, hypothesis 2 is supported. Theoretically, stressful CSA characteristics increase victim/nonvictim differences in menarcheal age. Stress may derive from household characteristics often related to CSA but, even controlling for them, CSA has independent effects on menarcheal age.

CONCLUSIONS

Hypothesis 1 may apply when CSA occurs within 2 years premenarche but, because hypothesis 2 is supported, continuing psychobiological effects and stress engendered by CSA are underscored. Mechanisms through which they impact the developing child require further exploration, and medical and psychological attention.

Father absence, menarche and interest in infants among adolescent girls

In this study we examined the relationship between menarche and interest in infants among adolescent girls, and the effects of early environment, particularly of father absence from home, on both variables. Eighty-three girls ranging in age from between 11 and 14 years served as study participants. Interest in infants was assessed through their preferences for photos and silhouettes of animal and human faces of infants versus adults. Information on menarche and the early family environment was obtained with questionnaires and interviews. Variation in menarcheal status or timing of menarche was associated with some differences in interest in infants. There was little or no evidence, however, that suggested a direct causal relationship between these variables. Instead, both menarche and interest in infants were independently associated with early father absence from home such that father-absent girls exhibited earlier menarche and greater attraction to infant visual stimuli than father-present girls. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that father absence is associated with a developmental trajectory characterized by earlier readiness for reproduction and parenting.

Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: an integrated life history approach

Life history theory provides a metatheoretical framework for the study of pubertal timing from an evolutionary-developmental perspective. The current article reviews 5 middle-level theories--energetics theory, stress-suppression theory, psychosocial acceleration theory, paternal investment theory, and child development theory--each of which applies the basic assumptions of life history theory to the question of environmental influences on timing of puberty in girls. These theories converge in their conceptualization of pubertal timing as responsive to ecological conditions but diverge in their conceptualization of (a) the nature, extent, and direction of environmental influences and (b) the effects of pubertal timing on other reproductive variables. Competing hypotheses derived from the 5 perspectives are evaluated. An extension of W. T. Boyce and B. J. Ellis's (in press) theory of stress reactivity is proposed to account for both inhibiting and accelerating effects of psychosocial stress on timing of pubertal development. This review highlights the multiplicity of (often unrecognized) perspectives guiding research, raises challenges to virtually all of these, and presents an alternative framework in an effort to move research forward in this arena of multidisciplinary inquiry.

The programming of individual differences in defensive responses and reproductive strategies in the rat through variations in maternal care

There are profound maternal effects on individual differences in defensive responses and reproductive strategies in species ranging literally from plants to insects to birds. Maternal effects commonly reflect the quality of the environment and are most likely mediated by the quality of the maternal provision (egg, propagule, etc.), which in turn determines growth rates and adult phenotype. In this paper, we review data from the rat that suggest comparable forms of maternal effects on both defensive responses to threat and reproductive behavior and which are mediated by variations in maternal behavior. Ultimately, we will need to contend with the reality that neural development, function and health are defined by social and economic influences.

Personality, perceived parental rejection and problem behavior in adolescence

BACKGROUND

It has been well documented that adolescents run a heightened risk for developing depression and aggression when they feel rejected by their parents and that parental rejection has different effects for gender in developing depression and aggression. Whether personality in combination with gender plays a role in the association between parental rejection, depression and aggression has not yet received much attention.

METHOD

This was a cross-sectional study using data from the Conflict and Management of Relationships study (CONAMORE). A total of 1142 early and middle adolescents completed questionnaires about parental rejection, depression, aggression and personality. The associations between the variables were tested in multi-group moderation models using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Perceived parental rejection was associated with depression and aggression in most of the combined personality type and gender groups. Personality type and gender moderated the associations between perceived parental rejection, depression and aggression. Several clear differences between the combined personality type and gender groups were found on these associations.

CONCLUSION

Several clear moderating effects of the personality type x gender groups were found on associations between perceived parental rejection, depression and aggression. Future research should focus on these specific combinations instead of using either personality types or gender separately.

Age at menarche and depression at the age of 31 years: findings from the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

Early age at menarche has been found to be associated with higher oestrogen levels among girls around the onset of puberty and in early adulthood. The role of oestrogen in depression is not clear, although it affects serotonergic functions in the central nervous system (CNS). We wanted to test the hypothesis that age at menarche is associated with depression in young adulthood.

METHODS

The material consisted of 3952 women born in 1966 in Northern Finland. Depression was defined by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25), the use of antidepressants and by self-reported lifetime depression diagnosed by physician. Menarcheal age was divided as 9-11, 12-15 and 16 years or over.

RESULTS

The prevalence of depression was 1.8-fold in current depression, 2.8-fold in the use of antidepressants and 2.1-fold in self-reported physician-diagnosed depression in women with menarche at the age of 16 years or later. After adjusting for confounders, the significant positive association between current depression and late menarche remained, but the use of antidepressants and depression diagnosed by physician had not statistically significant association with the age of menarche.

CONCLUSION

A possible explanation for the result may be oestrogen as a protective factor against depression.

Adolescent development

This chapter identifies the most robust conclusions and ideas about adolescent development and psychological functioning that have emerged since Petersen's 1988 review. We begin with a discussion of topics that have dominated recent research, including adolescent problem behavior, parent-adolescent relations, puberty, the development of the self, and peer relations. We then identify and examine what seem to us to be the most important new directions that have come to the fore in the last decade, including research on diverse populations, contextual influences on development, behavioral genetics, and siblings. We conclude with a series of recommendations for future research on adolescence.

INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS ON THE BODY TRAITS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The authors studied the influence of maternal reproductive characteristics on their pre-school children's body traits in a village in southern Spain, assuming that children's size at pre-school age is associated with their future reproductive patterns. The variables considered were: 1) mother's age at menarche, as a more genetically informative variable, 2) as a more environmental variable, they propose a new index of maternal time availability, and 3) birth weight to control its influence on early patterns of growth. The children's body traits considered were weight and height, and a body mass index was also computed. According to these results, the mother's age at menarche is related to those body parameters which probably influence the children's future reproductive strategies.

Social cognitions associated with pubertal development in a sample of urban, low-income, African-American and Latina girls and mothers

PURPOSE

To assess girls' acquisition of new sex-related social cognitions at puberty and the social meanings they attribute to changes in their primary social relationships.

METHODS

As part of a larger study assessing sociosexual cognitions of urban girls, 57 African-American and Latina mothers and 57 girls (aged 10-13 years) participated in one of 16 focus groups. Thematic analyses were conducted on transcripts of the mothers' and daughters' focus group sessions.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed four major themes related to pubertal development: (1) physical maturation provides new social status of maturity; (2) puberty is associated with changes in sexual expectations and roles; (3) girls develop social meanings to feelings of sexual arousal; and (4) puberty prompts changes in mother-daughter relationship control. Representative quotations are used to illustrate each of these themes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analyses provide insight into the ways in which late childhood and early adolescent urban girls interpret sexuality and sexual relations, perceive changes in their social relationships, and develop expectations regarding their roles in sexual and romantic relationships.

Update on pubertal development

This review provides updated information relating to the timing of pubertal onset from a large study of girls seen in pediatric practices. In addition, new studies investigating the relationship of the hormone leptin to the onset of puberty are discussed, as well as new information on the neuroendocrine control of pubertal regulation. A provocative study documenting poor mental health, more behavior problems, and lower IQ in children with premature adrenarche when compared with controls raises the question of whether psychological stress triggers premature adrenarche or whether the early increase in adrenal hormone secretion causes psychosocial problems. Finally, significant advances in the management of central precocious puberty in girls have been made over the past year.

Quality of early family relationships and individual differences in the timing of pubertal maturation in girls: a longitudinal test of an evolutionary model

In an 8-year prospective study of 173 girls and their families, the authors tested predictions from J. Belsky, L. Steinberg, and P. Draper's (1991) evolutionary model of individual differences in pubertal timing. This model suggests that more negative-coercive (or less positive-harmonious) family relationships in early childhood provoke earlier reproductive development in adolescence. Consistent with the model, fathers' presence in the home, more time spent by fathers in child care, greater supportiveness in the parental dyad, more father-daughter affection, and more mother-daughter affection, as assessed prior to kindergarten, each predicted later pubertal timing by daughters in 7th grade. The positive dimension of family relationships, rather than the negative dimension, accounted for these relations. In total, the quality of fathers' investment in the family emerged as the most important feature of the proximal family environment relative to daughters' pubertal timing.