The importance of puberty for adolescent development: conceptualization and measurement

Family-centered profiles of mindful parenting: Longitudinal associations with negative parenting and youth emotional and behavioral problems

There has been great interest in analyzing the potential of mindful parenting in promoting family well-being. Studies indicated that there is a lack of research on the predictive relationship between parenting practice and youth emotional and behavioral problems analyzed from a multi-informant perspective. This study evaluates the family-centered profiles of mothers and fathers' mindful parenting and negative parenting and youth problems associated with those profiles. A total of 441 youths (aged 9-14 years), along with their parents, answered self-report questionnaires in a three-wave longitudinal study conducted over 1 year. A latent profile analysis was performed to examine the mindful parenting profiles and to identify their associations with youth emotional and behavioral problems and negative parenting as outcomes. The results of latent profile analyses supported a three-profile solution: low mindful parenting family (35%), high maternal mindful parenting family (24%), and average mindful parenting family (41%). The low mindful parenting family profile showed the highest scores on negative parenting and youth emotional and behavioral problems. The high maternal mindful parenting family profile had the lowest scores on youth negative outcomes but demonstrated similar levels to those of the average mindful parenting family profile regarding negative parenting. Our findings highlight the importance of analyzing specific family profiles that help to develop personalized interventions with optimized treatments regarding family cohesion and environment.

Pubertal status and body image: An inquiry into experiences of adolescents in Ghana and Kenya

The current study uses a mixed method design to investigate Kenyan and Ghanaian adolescents' experiences of puberty, and the relations between gender, country of origin, pubertal status, and body image appraisals (N = 86; Ghana = 46, Kenya = 40, 52.9% female aged 13 and 14). Qualitative results revealed seven major themes; puberty means a universal period of growth and transition into adulthood but also evokes negative emotions of shame, anxiety, and embarrassment, being in sync with peers during puberty is important and knowing that others in their lives similarly experience puberty is reassuring. Quantitative results revealed significant gender and country differences in pubertal status and body image. Ghanaian adolescents had more advanced pubertal status and more positive body image appraisals compared to Kenyan adolescents. Moderation analysis results revealed that for the Kenyan sample, post-pubertal males had less favorable body image appraisals than their counterparts who were still pre pubertal whilst for females, post-pubertal girls had more favorable body images than their counterparts. No such effects were observed with the Ghanaian sample. The findings highlight the need for context considerations in understanding body image during the pubertal transition to help identify relevant protective factors for possible interventions. The results affirm the importance of positive body image promotions for adolescents within the African context and suggest the need for much more comprehensive sex education with gender-specific components to help allay fears about puberty, thus preventing the development of possible adaptation problems.

The Social Determinants of Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Adolescents Experiencing Early Puberty

PURPOSE

Earlier pubertal timing is an important predictor of emotional and behavioral problems during adolescence. The current study undertook a comprehensive investigation of whether the social environment can buffer or amplify the associations between pubertal timing and emotional and behavioral problems.

METHODS

Research questions were examined in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a large population representative sample in the United States. We examined interactions between pubertal timing and the shared effects of a range of proximal and distal social environmental influences (i.e., parents, peers, schools, neighborhoods, socioeconomic status) in 10- to 13-year-olds.

RESULTS

Results revealed significant interaction between timing and proximal social influences (i.e., the "microsystem") in predicting emotional and behavioral problems. In general, adolescents with earlier pubertal timing and unfavorable (high levels of negative and low levels of positive) influences in the microsystem exhibited greater problems. Both males and females exhibited such associations for rule-breaking problems, while females alone exhibited associations for depressive problems. Results also illustrate the relative strength of each social context at moderating risk for emotional and behavioral problems in earlier versus later pubertal maturers.

DISCUSSION

These findings highlight the importance of proximal social influences in buffering vulnerability for emotional and behavioral problems related to earlier puberty. Findings also illustrate the broad implications of latent environmental factors, reflecting common variance of multiple social influences that typically covary with one another.

Annual Research Review: Puberty and the development of anhedonia - considering childhood adversity and inflammation

Anhedonia, or diminished pleasure and motivation, is a symptom of severe mental illness (e.g., depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) that emerges during adolescence. Anhedonia is a pernicious symptom that is related to social impairments, treatment resistance, and suicide. As the mechanisms of anhedonia are postulated to include the frontostriatal circuitry and the dopamine neuromodulatory system, the development and plasticity of these systems during the vulnerable period of adolescence, as well as their sensitivity to pubertal hormones, suggest that pubertal maturation could play a role in the development of anhedonia. This review takes a developmental perspective, considering the possibility that anhedonia emerges in the context of pubertal maturation and adolescent development, with childhood adversity and chronic inflammation influencing neural reward systems to accelerate anhedonia's progression. Here, we review the relevant extant literature on the components of this model and suggest directions for future research.

BMI-based obesity classification misses children and adolescents with raised cardiometabolic risk due to increased adiposity

OBJECTIVE

To assess how inaccurately the body mass index (BMI) is used to diagnose obesity compared to body fat percentage (BF%) measurement and to compare the cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents with or without obesity according to BMI but with a similar BF%.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional investigation was conducted including 553 (378 females/175 males) white children and adolescents aged 6-17 years, 197 with normal weight (NW), 144 with overweight (OW) and 212 with obesity (OB) according to BMI. In addition to BMI, BF% measured by air displacement plethysmography, as well as markers of cardiometabolic risk had been determined in the existing cohort.

RESULTS

We found that 7% of subjects considered as NW and 62% of children and adolescents classified as OW according to BMI presented a BF% within the obesity range. Children and adolescents without obesity by the BMI criterion but with obesity by BF% exhibited higher blood pressure and C-reactive protein (CRP) in boys, and higher blood pressure, glucose, uric acid, CRP and white blood cells count, as well as reduced HDL-cholesterol, in girls, similar to those with obesity by BMI and BF%. Importantly, both groups of subjects with obesity by BF% showed a similarly altered glucose homeostasis after an OGTT as compared to their NW counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from the present study suggest increased cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents without obesity according to BMI but with obesity based on BF%. Being aware of the difficulty in determining body composition in everyday clinical practice, our data show that its inclusion could yield clinically useful information both for the diagnosis and treatment of overweight and obesity.

Severe pelvic pain is associated with sexual abuse experienced during childhood and/or adolescence irrespective of the presence of endometriosis

STUDY QUESTION

Is endometriosis associated with childhood and/or adolescent sexual abuse?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Endometriosis is not associated with a history of sexual abuse, unlike the presence of severe pelvic pain.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

Several studies have highlighted a link between pelvic pain and sexual abuse during childhood/adolescence. Moreover, an inflammatory state has been described in patients with a history of childhood maltreatment. Given that inflammation and pelvic pain are two entities often encountered with endometriosis, several teams have investigated whether endometriosis is associated with abuse during childhood/adolescence. However, the results are conflicting, and the link between sexual abuse and the presence of endometriosis and/or pain is hard to disentangle.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

A survey nested in a cohort study of women surgically explored for benign gynecological indications at our institution between January 2013 and January 2017. For each patient, a standardized questionnaire was completed during a face-to-face interview with the surgeon in the month preceding the surgery. Pelvic pain symptoms (dysmenorrhea, deep dyspareunia, non-cyclic chronic pelvic pain, and gastrointestinal or lower urinary tract symptoms) and their intensities were assessed with a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS). Pain was considered to be severe when the VAS score was ≥7.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

A 52-question survey was sent in September of 2017 to evaluate abuses, especially sexual abuse during childhood and/or adolescence, and the psychological state during childhood and adolescence. The survey was structured to cover the following sections: (i) abuses and other life events during childhood and adolescence; (ii) puberty and body changes; (iii) onset of sexuality; and (iv) family relationships during childhood and adolescence. The patients were divided into groups according to whether or not they exhibited histologically proven endometriosis. Statistical analyses were conducted using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

Two hundred and seventy-one patients answered all the questions of the survey: 168 with (endometriosis group) and 103 without endometriosis (control group). The mean ± SD overall population age was 32.2 ± 5.1 years. There were 136 (80.9%) and 48 (46.6%) women who experienced at least one severe pelvic pain symptom in the endometriosis and the control groups, respectively (P < 0.001). No differences were found between the two study groups regarding the following characteristics: (i) a history of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse; (ii) a history of abandonment or bereavement; (iii) the psychological state regarding puberty; and (iv) the family relationships. After multivariable analysis, we found no significant association between endometriosis and a history of sexual abuse during childhood and/or adolescence (P = 0.550). However, the presence of at least one severe pelvic pain symptom was independently associated with a history of sexual abuse (odds ratio = 3.6, 95% CI (1.2-10.4)).

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

Evaluation of the psychological state during childhood and/or adolescence can be subject to recall bias. In addition, selection bias is also a possibility given that some of the patients surveyed did not return the questionnaire.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Severe gynecological painful symptoms in women with or without histologically proven endometriosis may be linked to sexual abuse experienced during childhood and/or adolescence. Patient questioning about painful symptoms and abuses is important to provide comprehensive care to the patients, from a psychological to a somatic point of view.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

No funding or competing interests.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

N/A.

Socioeconomic position as a predictor of youth's movement trajectory profiles between ages 10 and 14 years

BACKGROUND

Combinations of movement behaviors (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep) are associated with health and developmental outcomes in youth. Youth vary in how they accumulate these behaviors, both in volume and specific domains (e.g., sedentary time spent on recreational screen activities vs homework). The aim of this study was to examine how youth's combined general and domain-specific movement trajectories differ by socioeconomic position.

METHODS

We conducted a longitudinal, group-based multi-trajectory analysis to identify general and domain-specific movement trajectory profiles for 2457 youth from age 10 to 14 years from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children from 2014-2018. We used multinomial logistic regression to test if socioeconomic position predicted profile membership.

RESULTS

We identified three general movement trajectory profiles for both sexes, four domain-specific profiles for males, and five for females. For general movement trajectories, females from lower socioeconomic positions were more likely to be a combination of less active and more sedentary than females from higher socioeconomic positions. Males across socioeconomic positions spend similar amounts of time in physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep. For domain-specific movement trajectories, youth from lower socioeconomic positions were likely to spend a combination of less time in education-based sedentary behavior and more time in recreational screen activities than their higher socioeconomic position peers.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that socioeconomic position predicted in which domains youth accumulate their movements. Future observational research and interventions targeting different socioeconomic groups should therefore consider domain-specific movement trajectories.

Adolescent brain development in girls with Turner syndrome

Turner syndrome (TS) is a common sex chromosome aneuploidy in females associated with various physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional phenotypes. However, few studies have examined TS-associated alterations in the development of cortical gray matter volume and the two components that comprise this measure-surface area and thickness. Moreover, the longitudinal direct (i.e., genetic) and indirect (i.e., hormonal) effects of X-monosomy on the brain are unclear. Brain structure was assessed in 61 girls with TS (11.3 ± 2.8 years) and 55 typically developing girls (10.8 ± 2.3 years) for up to 4 timepoints. Surface-based analyses of cortical gray matter volume, thickness, and surface area were conducted to examine the direct effects of X-monosomy present before pubertal onset and indirect hormonal effects of estrogen deficiency/X-monosomy emerging after pubertal onset. Longitudinal analyses revealed that, whereas typically developing girls exhibited normative declines in gray matter structure during adolescence, this pattern was reduced or inverted in TS. Further, girls with TS demonstrated smaller total surface area and larger average cortical thickness overall. Regionally, the TS group exhibited decreased volume and surface area in the pericalcarine, postcentral, and parietal regions relative to typically developing girls, as well as larger volume in the caudate, amygdala, and temporal lobe regions and increased thickness in parietal and temporal regions. Surface area alterations were predominant by age 8, while maturational differences in thickness emerged by age 10 or later. Taken together, these results suggest the involvement of both direct and indirect effects of X-chromosome haploinsufficiency on brain development in TS.

Taking Stock: An Adaptable Research and Partnership Model for Developing Puberty Education in 10 Countries

There is a growing global interest in puberty and early adolescence and the importance of ensuring young people have the information and support they need during this critical phase of transition in the life course. This article highlights an adaptable model being used to support the development of contextually appropriate puberty education, in the form of illustrated and often bilingual books, for early adolescent girls and boys in countries around the world. This youth-centered participatory research and design model, which relies on the generation of community and government partnerships, has been employed in 10 countries thus far. Valuable learning has been documented from various contexts, including the approach's flexibility in adapting to the inputs of government and community members, incorporating local buy-in as a key ingredient for sustainability, using in-country experts for social and cultural appropriateness of illustrations and translations, and ensuring that the authentic youth voices captured through the participatory data collection and field-testing shape the educational content. The continuous integration of insights and perceptions of adults who influence young people's lives into the development process is also essential to enabling the uptake of puberty content in each new country. Parents, educators, youth service providers, and government officials are often the gatekeepers to young adolescents receiving puberty content and are thus critical to the process. This review of more than a decade of experience using this model underscores the essentiality of 2 key components-local partnership and participatory data collection-and highlights the importance of flexible approaches that are adapted to the unique sociocultural and environmental conditions in each country context.

Independent and combined associations of urinary arsenic exposure and serum sex steroid hormones among 6-19-year old children and adolescents in NHANES 2013-2016

Arsenic exposure may disrupt sex steroid hormones, causing endocrine disruption. However, human evidence is limited and inconsistent, especially for children and adolescents. To evaluate the independent and combined associations between arsenic exposure and serum sex steroid hormones in children and adolescents, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from 1063 participants aged 6 to 19 years from the 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Three urine arsenic metabolites were examined, as well as three serum sex steroid hormones, estradiol (E₂), total testosterone (TT), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). The ratio of TT to E₂ (TT/E₂) and the free androgen index (FAI) generated by TT/SHBG were also assessed. Linear regression, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to evaluate the associations of individual or arsenic metabolite combinations with sex steroid hormones by gender and age stratification. Positive associations were found between total arsenic and arsenic metabolites with TT, E₂, and FAI. In contrast, negative associations were found between arsenic metabolites and SHBG. Furthermore, there was an interaction after gender-age stratification between DMA and SHBG in female adolescents. Notably, based on the WQS and BKMR model results, the combined association of arsenic and its metabolites was positively associated with TT, E₂, and FAI and negatively associated with SHBG. Moreover, DMA and MMA dominated the highest weights among the arsenic metabolites. Overall, our results indicate that exposure to arsenic, either alone or in mixtures, may alter sex steroid hormone levels in children and adolescents.

Snacking behaviour and nutrients intake among 11-16 years-old students from two different boarding system schools

This study's main objective was to investigate the difference between snacking behaviors and dietary nutrient intake in boarding system students. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Beijing's closed and semi closed boarding management school. The snack consumption questionnaire collected snack consumption behaviors; three-day recall periods for food consumption data were collected through the canteen weighing method and 24-h dietary recall of students' intakes. For closed and semi closed boarding management schools, the percentage of never having snacking behaviors was 12.95% and 2.69% on weekdays and 2.16% and 4.19% on weekends. A higher proportion of respondents chose unhealthy snacks in closed boarding management schools. The main problems in closed boarding management schools were the excessively low percentage of energy from carbohydrates and the excessively high percentage of energy from fat. Both deficiency and excess energy supply ratios of protein, carbohydrate, and fat were present in semi-closed boarding management schools. There was a high risk of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and selenium deficiency for most students in both management schools. The closed-school girls had the highest risk of suffering from iron deficiency. Vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, and vitamin E deficiencies were severe in both schools, especially vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin B2 deficiencies in semi-closed boarding management schoolboys. Effective nutritional interventions should be taken to improve the nutritional status of both boarding management and school students.

Sex and pubertal influences on the neurodevelopmental underpinnings of schizophrenia: A case for longitudinal research on adolescents

Sex is a significant source of heterogeneity in schizophrenia, with more negative symptoms in males and more affective symptoms and internalizing comorbidity in females. In this narrative review, we argue that there are likely sex differences in the pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SZ) that originate during puberty and relate to the sex-specific impacts of pubertal maturation on brain development. Pubertal maturation might also trigger underlying (genetic or other) vulnerabilities in at-risk individuals, influencing brain development trajectories that contribute to the emergence of SZ. This review is the first to integrate links between pubertal development and neural development with cognitive neuroscience research in SZ to form and evaluate these hypotheses, with a focus on the frontal-striatal and frontal-limbic networks and their hypothesized contribution to negative and mood symptoms respectively. To test these hypotheses, longitudinal research with human adolescents is needed that examines the role of sex and pubertal development using large cohorts or high risk samples. We provide recommendations for such studies, which will integrate the fields of psychiatry, developmental cognitive neuroscience, and developmental endocrinology towards a more nuanced understanding of the role of pubertal factors in the hypothesized sex-specific pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia.

Dehydrocorydaline alleviates sleep deprivation-induced persistent postoperative pain in adolescent mice through inhibiting microglial P2Y12 receptor expression in the spinal cord

During adolescence, a second period of central nervous system (CNS) plasticity that follows the fetal period, which involves sleep deprivation (SD), becomes apparent. SD during adolescence may result in abnormal development of neural circuits, causing imbalance in neuronal excitation and inhibition, which not only results in pain, but increases the chances of developing emotion disorders in adulthood, such as anxiety and depression. The quantity of surgeries during adolescence is also consistently on the rise, yet the impact and underlying mechanism of preoperative SD on postoperative pain remain unexplored. This study demonstrates that preoperative SD induces upregulation of the P2Y12 receptor, which is exclusively expressed on spinal microglia, and phosphorylation of its downstream signaling pathway p38Mitogen-activated protein/Nuclear transcription factor-κB (p38MAPK/NF-κB)in spinal microglia, thereby promoting microglia activation and microglial transformation into the proinflammatory M1 phenotype, resulting in increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines that exacerbate persisting postoperative incisional pain in adolescent mice. Both intrathecal minocycline (a microglia activation inhibitor) and MRS2395 (a P2Y12 receptor blocker) effectively suppressed microglial activation and proinflammatory cytokine expression. Interestingly, supplementation with dehydrocorydaline (DHC), an extract of Rhizoma Corydalis, inhibited the P2Y12/p38MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway, microglia activation, and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the model mice. Taken together, the results indicate that the P2Y12 receptor and microglial activation are important factors in persistent postoperative pain caused by preoperative SD in adolescent mice and that DHC has analgesic effects by acting on these targets.

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

Background: Transgender healthcare is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field. In the last decade, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number and visibility of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people seeking support and gender-affirming medical treatment in parallel with a significant rise in the scientific literature in this area. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is an international, multidisciplinary, professional association whose mission is to promote evidence-based care, education, research, public policy, and respect in transgender health. One of the main functions of WPATH is to promote the highest standards of health care for TGD people through the Standards of Care (SOC). The SOC was initially developed in 1979 and the last version (SOC-7) was published in 2012. In view of the increasing scientific evidence, WPATH commissioned a new version of the Standards of Care, the SOC-8. Aim: The overall goal of SOC-8 is to provide health care professionals (HCPs) with clinical guidance to assist TGD people in accessing safe and effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves with the aim of optimizing their overall physical health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment. Methods: The SOC-8 is based on the best available science and expert professional consensus in transgender health. International professionals and stakeholders were selected to serve on the SOC-8 committee. Recommendation statements were developed based on data derived from independent systematic literature reviews, where available, background reviews and expert opinions. Grading of recommendations was based on the available evidence supporting interventions, a discussion of risks and harms, as well as the feasibility and acceptability within different contexts and country settings. Results: A total of 18 chapters were developed as part of the SOC-8. They contain recommendations for health care professionals who provide care and treatment for TGD people. Each of the recommendations is followed by explanatory text with relevant references. General areas related to transgender health are covered in the chapters Terminology, Global Applicability, Population Estimates, and Education. The chapters developed for the diverse population of TGD people include Assessment of Adults, Adolescents, Children, Nonbinary, Eunuchs, and Intersex Individuals, and people living in Institutional Environments. Finally, the chapters related to gender-affirming treatment are Hormone Therapy, Surgery and Postoperative Care, Voice and Communication, Primary Care, Reproductive Health, Sexual Health, and Mental Health. Conclusions: The SOC-8 guidelines are intended to be flexible to meet the diverse health care needs of TGD people globally. While adaptable, they offer standards for promoting optimal health care and guidance for the treatment of people experiencing gender incongruence. As in all previous versions of the SOC, the criteria set forth in this document for gender-affirming medical interventions are clinical guidelines; individual health care professionals and programs may modify these in consultation with the TGD person.

Beyond the diathesis-stress paradigm: Effect of the environmental sensitivity × pubertal tempo interaction on depressive symptoms

Based on the Differential Susceptibility Theory, we examined whether the relationship between pubertal maturation and depressive symptoms can be moderated by individual differences in environmental sensitivity. The current article used the three-wave data collected from Japanese adolescents aged from 12 to 15 years (girls = 111, boys = 98). Consequently, a significant Sensitivity × Pubertal Development interaction was observed in 12- to 13-year-old boys, but not girls. Sensitive boys who experienced accelerated physical maturation reported decreased depressive symptoms, while those who experienced less maturation had increased depressive symptoms. The shape of the interaction supported both the Differential Susceptibility Theory and the Diathesis-Stress Model. Our findings suggest that sensitivity during early puberty among boys could be reconsidered as susceptibility rather than vulnerability.

The association between non-suicidal self-injury and negative life events in children and adolescents in underdeveloped regions of south-western China

Background

The association between negative life events and Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in children and adolescents has been extensively discussed. Nevertheless, little is known about the relationship between negative life events and repetition and severity of NSSI. This survey aims to understand the association between NSSI prevalence, severity, repetition and the negative life events in children and adolescents in underdeveloped regions in south-western China.

Methods

In this population-based cross-sectional study, 3,146 children and adolescents were included from underdeveloped regions of south-western China, and each of them requested to complete a self-assessment questionnaire. The Modified Version of Adolescents Self-Harm Scale (MASHS) and the Adolescent Self-rating negative Life Events Check-list were used to evaluate NSSI behaviors and negative life events, respectively. The statistical implementation of this study was carried out in the R statistical software, and the logistic regression analysis method was used to analyze the relationship between negative life events and adolescents' non-suicidal self-injury behaviors.

Results

The average age of all included participants was 13.31 years old. The lifetime prevalence of NSSI was 47.0% (95% CI [36.3-58.0%]). Gender, grade level and ASLEC was positively associated with NSSI. Further analysis revealed that, for all five dimensions of ASLEC, only interpersonal relationship factor (IRF) (OR 1.77 (95% CI [1.06-2.97])), health adaptation factor (HAF) (OR 2.08 (95% CI [1.31-3.31])) showed prominent association with NSSI. Multivariate Logistic regression models revealed that, repetitive NSSI (OR 4.54 (95% CI [3.66-5.63])) and NSSI severity (OR 9.01 (95% CI [6.11-13.29])) were positively associated with ASLEC.

Conclusion

NSSI is very common among children and adolescents in underdeveloped regions of south-western China. Negative life event are positively associated with NSSI, repeated NSSI, and severe NSSI. Negative life events centered intervention measures might be effective in reducing NSSI among school children and adolescents in underdeveloped regions of south-western China.

The impact of social disadvantage on autonomic physiology of latinx adolescents: The role of environmental risks

The experience of poverty embodies complex, multidimensional stressors that may adversely affect physiological and psychological domains of functioning. Compounded by racial/ethnic discrimination, the financial aspect of family poverty typically coincides with additional social and physical environmental risks such as pollution exposure, housing burden, elevated neighborhood unemployment, and lower neighborhood education levels. In this study, we investigated the associations of multidimensional social disadvantage throughout adolescence with autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning at 17 years. Two hundred and twenty nine low-income Mexican-American adolescents (48.6% female) and their parents were assessed annually between the ages of 10 and 16. Participants' census tracts were matched with corresponding annual administrative data of neighborhood housing burden, education, unemployment, drinking water quality, and fine particulate matter. We combined measures of adolescents' electrodermal response and respiratory sinuses arrhythmia at rest and during a social exclusion challenge (Cyberball) to use as ANS indices of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, respectively. Controlling for family income-to-needs, youth exposed to greater cumulative water and air pollution from ages 10-16 displayed altered patterns of autonomic functioning at rest and during the social challenge. Conversely, youth living in areas with higher housing burden displayed healthy patterns of autonomic functioning. Altogether, results suggest that toxin exposure in youths' physical environments disrupts the ANS, representing a plausible mechanism by which pollutants and social disadvantage influence later physical and mental health.

The effect of peer education based on adolescent health education on the resilience of children and adolescents: A cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

An increasing number of children and adolescents have reported mental health problems, and resilience is a protective factor against these problems. Therefore, the aim of the study is to verify the effect of peer education based on adolescent health education on adolescent resilience.

METHOD

A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted including 1,613 students who were divided into an intervention group (19 classes, 732 participants) and a control group (24 classes, 881 participants). One-year peer education was performed in the intervention group, and the control group had no interventions. The Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents by Yueqin Hu and a self-designed basic information questionnaire were used to collect data. Chi-square test and rank-sum test were used to compare the differences of demographic characteristics between the two groups. A linear mixed model was used to compare the changes of resilience between the two groups after intervention, and the intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to verify the effect of peer education on adolescent resilience. The significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

After intervention, compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvement in target focus, emotion adjustment, interpersonal assistance and total resilience (P < 0.05). The ICC range was 0.003 to 0.034. The GLMM results indicated that peer education based on adolescent health education had significant effects on adolescents' target focus (β = 0.893, P = 0.002), emotional adjustment (β = 1.766, P < 0.001), interpersonal assistance (β = 1.722, P = 0.016) and total mental resilience (β = 5.391, P < 0.001), and the effect was greater for boys than for girls.

CONCLUSIONS

Peer education based on adolescent health education is effective for improving adolescents' target focus, emotional adjustment, interpersonal assistance, and total resilience, especially for males. Future research should devote more attention to positive cognition and family support as well as gender differences.

Longitudinal associations between prepubertal childhood total energy and macronutrient intakes and subsequent puberty timing in UK boys and girls

PURPOSE

Early puberty is associated with adverse health outcomes. To identify potential modifiable factors for puberty timing, we examined the associations of prepubertal childhood macronutrient intakes with puberty timing in boys and girls.

METHODS

In the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, macronutrient intakes at age 6 years were predicted using random intercepts linear regression models of dietary data at 3, 4, 7 (assessed by food frequency questionnaires) and 7.5 years (by 3-day food diaries). Timings of puberty onset (Tanner stage 2 genital or breast (B2) development) and puberty completion (voice breaking (VB) or menarche) were calculated from annual parental and child reports at 8-17 years. Age at peak height velocity (PHV) was derived from repeated height measurements at 5-20 years. Linear regression models were fit to estimate the associations of total energy (TEI) and macronutrient intakes (carbohydrate, fat, protein) with puberty timing traits, adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics.

RESULTS

Among 3811 boys, higher TEI, but no macronutrient, was associated with earlier VB. Among 3919 girls, higher TEI was associated with earlier ages at B2, PHV, and menarche. Higher protein intake but not carbohydrate or fat intake (in energy partition models) and substitution of dietary protein for carbohydrate (in nutrient density and residual models) was associated with earlier B2, PHV, and menarche in girls. Findings were not attenuated on additional adjustment for body fat percentage during adolescence.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest habitual total energy intakes in children, and protein intakes in girls, as potential modifiable determinants of puberty timing.

Family environmental antecedents of pubertal timing in girls and boys: A review and open questions

Across nonhuman species, pubertal timing is affected by the social environment, with consequences for reproductive success and behavior. In human beings, variations in pubertal timing have not been systematically examined in relation to social environmental antecedents, although their psychological consequences are well documented. This paper focuses on links in human beings between pubertal timing and the childhood social environment, with several sections: A review of studies relating pubertal timing to the family context, a key aspect of the social environment; challenges in studying the issue; and opportunities for future work that takes advantage of and creates links with evidence in other species. The review shows that pubertal timing in girls is accelerated by adversity in aspects of the early family social context, with effects small in size; data in boys are not sufficient to enable conclusions. Inferences from existing studies are limited by variations in conceptualizations and measurement of relevant aspects of puberty and of the family social environment, and by methodological issues (e.g., reliance on existing data, use of retrospective reports, nonrandom missing data). Open questions remain about the nature, mechanisms, and specificity of the links between early family social environment and pubertal timing (e.g., form of associations, consideration of absence of positive experiences, role of timing of exposure). Animal studies provide a useful guide for addressing these questions, by delineating potential hormonal mechanisms that underlie links among social context, pubertal timing, and behavior, and encouraging attention to aspects of the social environment outside the family, especially peers.

Effect of natalizumab treatment on the rate of No Evidence of Disease Activity in young adults with multiple sclerosis in relation to pubertal stage

Approximately 40% of young-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients experience breakthrough disease, which carries a high risk for long-term disability, and requires using therapies beyond traditional first-line agents. Despite the increasing use of newer disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in this population, data are not available to guide the need for escalating DMTs and there is a scarcity of data on the effects of natalizumab in children and young adults with active disease. We performed a retrospective analysis of the rate of No Evidence of Disease Activity (NEDA), tolerability, and safety of natalizumab in a multi-center cohort of 36 children and young adults with highly active MS. All patients had active disease and initiated treatment with natalizumab. The primary endpoint was the rate of achieving NEDA-3 status, within two years of natalizumab treatment. To examine a possible effect of age on the outcome of treatment, outcomes were also analyzed by pre-pubertal (n = 13 children aged 9-13 years) and pubertal subgroups (n = 23 young adolescents aged 14-20 years). The NEDA-3 status of the pre-pubertal group was 92% in the first and second year and in the pubertal group - 96% in the first year and 92% in the second year. Natalizumab reduced the number and volume of brain lesions in both pre-pubertal and pubertal groups. Treatment was well-tolerated, only 8 patients (22.2%) had adverse events during the 2-year study period. Our analysis shows that natalizumab is effective and well-tolerated in pre-pubertal and pubertal MS patients.

The association between insecurity and subjective well-being among youth during the COVID-19 outbreak: A moderated mediation model

BACKGROUND

Sudden and unpredictable changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have profoundly threatened the psychological well-being and increased insecurity among adolescents worldwide. At a critical developmental stage, the well-being of the youth is more vulnerable to adverse environments. This study constructed a moderated mediation model to explore the buffering factors between insecurity and subjective well-being of the youth during the pandemic.

METHODS

During the COVID-19 outbreak in June 2020, data of 5,503 Chinese youth (15-29 years old) were collected via an online questionnaire. Subjective well-being, insecurity, self-control, and hope were measured, and the moderated mediation model was analyzed.

RESULTS

Findings from this study showed that with the mediating effect of self-control, insecurity negatively predicted subjective well-being, and hope moderated the association between insecurity and self-control. Specifically, the link between insecurity and self-control was stronger when hope was low but weaker when hope was high.

LIMITATIONS

Since this study was mainly conducted in China, and considering the continuous change of the pandemic on a global scale, it is of great significance to conduct cross-cultural and cross-time studies in the future.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrate that self-control and hope play important roles in buffering the negative effects of insecurity on the subjective well-being of adolescents and young adults. The findings provide implications for reducing the negative impact of insecurity from a positive psychology perspective and for youth mental health interventions during public health crises.

Dietary Fat and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intakes during Childhood Are Prospectively Associated with Puberty Timing Independent of Dietary Protein

Dietary fat and fat quality have been inconsistently associated with puberty timing. The aim of this study was to investigate the prospective associations of dietary fat, saturated fatty acid (SFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) with puberty timing. Using longitudinal data from China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) and Southwest China Childhood Nutrition and Growth (SCCNG) Study, we analyzed dietary data, anthropometric measurements, and potential confounders. Dietary intakes were assessed by 3-day 24-h recalls. Age at Tanner stage 2 for breast/genital development (B2/G2) and age at menarche/voice break (M/VB) were used as puberty development markers. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the relevance of dietary intake of total fat, SFA, PUFA, and MUFA on puberty timing. Among 3425 girls and 2495 boys, children with higher intakes of total fat and PUFA were more likely to reach their B2/G2 or M/VB at an earlier age. Associations were not attenuated on additional adjustment for childhood dietary protein intake. However, higher intakes of SFA or MUFA were not independently associated with puberty development. A higher intake of dietary fat and PUFA in prepuberty was associated with earlier puberty timing, which was independent of dietary protein intake.

The Danish High-Risk and Resilience Study-VIA 15 - A Study Protocol for the Third Clinical Assessment of a Cohort of 522 Children Born to Parents Diagnosed With Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder and Population-Based Controls

BACKGROUND

Children born to parents with severe mental illness have gained more attention during the last decades because of increasing evidence documenting that these children constitute a population with an increased risk of developing mental illness and other negative life outcomes. Because of high-quality research with cohorts of offspring with familial risk and increased knowledge about gene-environment interactions, early interventions and preventive strategies are now being developed all over the world. Adolescence is a period characterized by massive changes, both in terms of physical, neurologic, psychological, social, and behavioral aspects. It is also the period of life with the highest risk of experiencing onset of a mental disorder. Therefore, investigating the impact of various risk and resilience factors in adolescence is important.

METHODS

The Danish High-Risk and Resilience Study started data collection in 2012, where 522 7-year-old children were enrolled in the first wave of the study, the VIA 7 study. The cohort was identified through Danish registers based on diagnoses of the parents. A total of 202 children had a parent diagnosed with schizophrenia, 120 children had a parent diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and 200 children had parents without these diagnoses. At age 11 years, all children were assessed for the second time in the VIA 11 study, with a follow-up retention rate of 89%. A comprehensive assessment battery covering domains of psychopathology, neurocognition, social cognition and behavior, motor development and physical health, genetic analyses, attachment, stress, parental functioning, and home environment was carried out at each wave. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brain and electroencephalograms were included from age 11 years. This study protocol describes the third wave of assessment, the VIA 15 study, participants being 15 years of age and the full, 3-day-long assessment battery this time including also risk behavior, magnetoencephalography, sleep, and a white noise paradigm. Data collection started on May 1, 2021.

DISCUSSION

We will discuss the importance of longitudinal studies and cross-sectional data collection and how studies like this may inform us about unmet needs and windows of opportunity for future preventive interventions, early illness identification, and treatment in the future.

Developmental cascades and educational attainment

Developmental cascades describe how systems of development interact and influence one another to shape human development across the lifespan. Despite its popularity, developmental cascades are commonly used to understand the developmental course of psychopathology, typically in the context of risk and resilience. Whether this framework can be useful for studying children's educational outcomes remains underexplored. Therefore, in this chapter, we provide an overview of how developmental cascades can be used to study children's academic development, with a particular focus on the biological, cognitive, and contextual pathways to educational attainment. We also provide a summary of contemporary statistical methods and highlight existing data sets that can be used to test developmental cascade models of educational attainment from birth through adulthood. We conclude the chapter by discussing the challenges of this research and explore important future directions of using developmental cascades to understand educational attainment.

Behavioral Theories and Motivational Features Underlying eHealth Interventions for Adolescent Antiretroviral Adherence: Systematic Review

Background

eHealth systems provide new opportunities for the delivery of antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence interventions for adolescents. They may be more effective if grounded in health behavior theories and behavior change techniques (BCTs). Prior reviews have examined the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of these eHealth systems. However, studies have not systematically explored the use of health behavior theories and BCTs in the design of these applications.

Objective

The purpose of this review was to explore whether health behavior theories and BCTs were considered to ground designs of eHealth systems supporting adolescents’ (10-24 years) ART adherence. More specifically, we examined which specific theories and BCTs were applied, and how these BCTs were implemented as design features. Additionally, we investigated the quality and effect of eHealth systems.

Methods

A systematic search was performed on IEEE Xplore, ACM, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from 2000 to 2020. Theory use and BCTs were coded using the Theory Coding Scheme and the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy version 1 (BCTTv1), respectively. Design features were identified using the lenses of motivational design for mobile health (mHealth). The number of BCTs and design features for each eHealth system and their prevalence across all systems were assessed.

Results

This review identified 16 eHealth systems aiming to support ART adherence among adolescents. System types include SMS text message reminders (n=6), phone call reminders (n=3), combined SMS text message and phone call reminders (n=1), electronic adherence monitoring devices (n=3), smartphone apps (n=1), smartphone serious games (n=1), gamified smartphone apps (n=1), leveraging existing social media (n=2), web-based applications (n=1), videoconferencing (n=1), and desktop applications (n=1). Nine were grounded in theory, of which 3 used theories extensively. The impact of adolescent developmental changes on ART adherence was not made explicit. A total of 42 different BCTs and 24 motivational design features were used across systems. Ten systems reported positive effects on 1 or more outcomes; however, of these ten systems, only 3 reported exclusively positive effects on all the outcomes they measured. As much as 6 out of 16 reported purely no effect in all the outcomes measured.

Conclusions

Basic applications (SMS text messaging and phone calls) were most frequent, although more advanced systems such as mobile apps and games are also emerging. This review indicated gaps in the use of theory and BCTs, and particularly the impact of developmental changes on ART adherence was not adequately considered. Together with adopting a developmental orientation, future eHealth systems should effectively leverage health theories and consider developing more advanced systems that open the door to using BCTs more comprehensively. Overall, the impact of eHealth systems on adolescent ART adherence and its mediators is promising, but conclusive evidence on effect still needs to be provided.

Who's Influencing Who? Adolescent Symptomatology and Caregiver Mindful Parenting

Mindful parenting is linked to positive youth emotion regulation, mental health, and parent-child relationship quality. We examined bidirectional relations between adolescent mental health and mindful parenting among a diverse sample of 249 7th grade students and their female (N = 232) and male caregivers (N = 120). We conducted multiple-group cross-lagged models (grouped by adolescent sex). Female adolescents' externalizing symptoms predicted decreased female caregiver mindful parenting six months later, but male and female adolescent externalizing behaviors were negatively associated with male caregivers' mindful parenting one year later. Findings suggest mindful parenting capacities are vulnerable to disruption via adolescent problem behavior. Mindful parenting's potential benefits, caveats, and need to support parent efforts to sustain mindful parenting amidst adolescents' externalizing behaviors are discussed.

Cannabis Use and Emotional Intelligence in Adolescents during COVID-19 Confinement: A Social Network Analysis Approach

Confinement by COVID-19 had negative consequences on adolescent mental health, including increased cannabis use. Cannabis is related to variables that influence health and well-being. Emotional Intelligence is associated with adaptive coping styles, peer relationships, and social–emotional competencies. In adolescence, peer selection plays a unique role in the initiation of substance use. However, there are no studies during a confinement stage that analyse the relationships between networks, Emotional Intelligence, and cannabis use. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the consumption and friendship networks of an adolescent classroom and their relationship with Emotional Intelligence, cannabis use, and gender during COVID-19 confinement. Participants completed different questionnaires for Emotional Intelligence, cannabis use, and the consumption and friendship network. The sample consisted of 21 students from 10th grade, of which 47.6% were consumers. The friendship network correlates with the consumption network, and significant associations between emotional repair and being a cannabis user. The regression model points to the friendship network as a significant variable in predicting the classroom use network. This study highlights the role of the Social Network Analysis in predicting consumption networks during a COVID-19 confinement stage and serves as a tool for cannabis use prevention interventions in a specific population.

[Investigating the relationship between social media use and body image among adolescents: A systematic review]

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to update the scientific knowledge concerning the relationship between the use of social networking sites and body image among adolescents.

METHODS

A preregistered systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and allowed to include 30 peer-reviewed articles for qualitative analysis, consisting of 26 unique samples (n=31,331; M_age=14.89; SD_age=1.07). The search was conducted on Pubmed, PsychInfo and Scopus focusing on studies that included any social network site use and body image measures while being based on general population adolescent samples. Social networking site use referred: 1) to any online activities such as browsing, posting, editing selfies, liking, commenting; 2) to any exposure to appearance-related content; or 3) to a measure of frequency use. The scope of social networking sites considered in the present review was extended to online video-sharing platforms and online dating applications due to their relationship with appearance. Body image as considered through MeSH terms referred to a wide range of possible outcomes including body and facial dissatisfaction, dysmorphophobia, body surveillance, self-objectification, body shame, weight concerns, self-monitoring. Any mental health outcome was extracted when available although its absence was not an exclusion criterion..

RESULTS

Among the 30 studies included in the review, 22 were cross-sectional, seven were longitudinal and one had an experimental design. Overall, among studies based on unique samples, 18 studies included both males and females (n=28,081; M_age 14.84; SD_age=1.06), seven were based exclusively on female samples (n=2,507; M_age 14.87; SD_age=1.19), while one study recruited only male adolescents (n=743; M_age 15.90; SD_age=0.54). Only six studies were based on representative samples. These studies reported a robust association between frequency of social networking site use and negative body image among both females and males. In addition, exposure to appearance-related content was also deleterious to body image. The association between the use of social media and negative body image may involve negative mental health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms, low body esteem and problematic use of social media. Measuring specific activities on social network sites or exposure to appearance-related content (e.g. selfies editing; selfies posting) may be more accurate than using a frequency of overall use (e.g. during the past month) when predicting body image. Studies addressing underlying processes supported that the relationship between use of social media and body image may not be direct but rather involve intermediary steps on both cognitive and social levels, namely internalization of the thin ideal, self-objectification, peer appearance-related feedback, ascendant social comparison with peers and celebrities. Also, it remains unclear whether mental health mediates this relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

The association between the use of social networking sites and negative body image is robustly supported in the literature. However, studies measuring frequency of overall use may instead be predicting negative body image with a nested measure of the use of social network sites, namely specific activities involving appearance-related content. Due to the observed discrepancies between self-reported frequency of social networking site use and actual use in methodological literature, future research may rather measure behaviors commonly encountered on a given platform. Furthermore, there is a need to distinguish specific site categories such as highly visual social media when focusing on body image outcomes. . Focusing on specific social media platforms may in turn lead to more targeted prevention regarding a safe utilization of social networking sites among adolescents. Despite the growing body of research concerning the association between social media and body image, the current review underlines that additional longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to investigate potential bidirectional effects, as well as studies based on representative samples to improve generalization to adolescent populations.

The effects of puberty and its hormones on subcortical brain development

Puberty triggers a period of structural “re-organization” in the brain, when rising hormone levels act via receptors to influence morphology. However, our understanding of these neuroendocrine processes in humans remains poor. As such, the current longitudinal study characterized development of the human subcortex during puberty, including changes in relation to pubertal (Tanner) stage and hormone (testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA]) levels. Beyond normative group-level patterns of development, we also examined whether individual differences in the rate of pubertal maturation (i.e., “pubertal/hormonal tempo”) were associated with variations in subcortical trajectories. Participants (N = 192; scans = 366) completed up to three waves of MRI assessments between 8.5 and 14.5 years of age. Parents completed questionnaire assessments of pubertal stage at each wave, and adolescents provided hormone samples on a subset of waves. Generalized additive mixture models were used to characterize trajectories of subcortical development. Results showed that development of most subcortical structures was related to pubertal stage, although findings were mostly non-significant when controlling for age. Testosterone and DHEA levels were related to development of the amygdala, hippocampus and pallidum in both sexes, and findings in the amygdala remained significant when controlling for age. Additionally, we found that variability in hormonal (specifically testosterone) tempo was related to right hippocampal development in males, with an accelerated pattern of hippocampal development in those with greater increases in testosterone levels. Overall, our findings suggest prominent hormonal influences on the amygdala and hippocampus, consistent with the prevalence of androgen and estrogen receptors in these regions. We speculate that these findings are most likely reflective of the important role of adrenarcheal processes on adolescent brain development.

There are widespread associations between physical and hormonal indices of puberty and subcortical development.

Effects of testosterone and DHEA are strongest in the amygdala, hippocampus and pallidum.

Individual differences in the tempo of rising testosterone are related to variability in hippocampal development in males.

Effectiveness of Yoga Nidra in reducing stress in school going adolescents: An experimental study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Academic stress can exert severe stress in adolescents answering their career deciding board exams. The present study attempted to understand the efficacy of Yoga Nidra (YN) in mitigating psychosocial stress.

DESIGN

and Methods: This study was carried on 10th-grade students (ages 14 to 16) and had two arms, one performing YN (experimental) and the other without YN (control) for 21 consecutive days. Modified Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ-I) was used to assess the stress in the students before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

The results indicate that performing YN was effective and significantly decreased the total stress (P < 0.001) and vital domains like the stress of home life (P < 0.005), school performance (P < 0.026), teacher interaction (P < 0.024), future uncertainty (P < 0.001), school and leisure conflict (P < 0.001). Also, at the end of the study in control, low and moderate stress was observed in 58.06% and 41.93%, while in the YN group, it was 96.15% and 3.85% and was statistically significant (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that YN effectively reduced psychosocial stress in adolescents and could be useful in school curriculum.

Socioeconomic Health Inequalities in Adolescent Metabolic Syndrome and Depression: No Mediation by Parental Depression and Parenting Style

We assessed to what extent parental depression and parenting style mediate the relationships between different measures of parental socioeconomic status (SES) and both depression and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents, and whether sex moderates these mechanisms. Data were from the prospective multigenerational Dutch Lifelines Cohort Study. Our sample consisted of 1217 adolescents with an average follow-up of 33.3 (SD = 7.33) months and a median baseline age of 13 (IQR:13–14) years. We used structural equation models to assess the direct and indirect effects of SES on baseline and changes at follow-up in both depression and MetS, and to assess moderation by sex. For each additional year of education, continuous MetS scores were 0.098 (95%CI: 0.020; 0.184) units lower at baseline and decreased 0.079 (95%CI: 0.004; 0.158) units at follow-up. No other direct or indirect effects of SES were found, and there was no moderation by sex. Additionally, warmer parenting style was generally associated with more favorable outcome scores. Therefore, improving parenting style may improve health for all adolescents. However, in this study parental depression and parenting style did not account for adolescent socioeconomic health inequalities. This may be partly due to good access to social services within the Netherlands.

Urinary and salivary endocrine measurements to complement Tanner staging in studies of pubertal development

Background

Many studies investigating pubertal development use Tanner staging to assess maturation. Endocrine markers in urine and saliva may provide an objective, sensitive, and non-invasive method for assessing development.

Objective

Our objective was to examine whether changes in endocrine levels can indicate the onset of pubertal development prior to changes in self-rated Tanner stage.

Methods

Thirty-five girls and 42 boys aged 7 to 15 years were enrolled in the Growth and Puberty (GAP) study, a longitudinal pilot study conducted from 2007–2009 involving children of women enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) in Iowa. We collected saliva and urine samples and assessed pubertal development by self-rated Tanner staging (pubic hair, breast development (girls), genital development (boys)) at three visits over six months. We measured dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in saliva and creatinine-adjusted luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estrone 3-glucuronide (E₁3G) and pregnanediol 3-glucuronide (Pd3G) concentrations in first morning urine. We evaluated the relationships over time between Tanner stage and each biomarker using repeated measures analysis.

Results

Among girls still reporting Tanner breast stage 1 at the final visit, FSH levels increased over the 6-month follow-up period and were no longer lower than higher stage girls at the end of follow-up. We observed a similar pattern for testosterone in boys. By visit 3, boys still reporting Tanner genital stage 1 or pubic hair stage 1 had attained DHEA levels that were comparable to those among boys reporting Tanner stages 2 or 3.

Conclusions

Increasing concentrations of FSH in girls and DHEA and testosterone in boys over a 6-month period revealed the start of the pubertal process prior to changes in self-rated Tanner stage. Repeated, non-invasive endocrine measures may complement the more subjective assessment of physical markers in studies determining pubertal onset.

Family Experiences and Parent Personality as Antecedents of Pubertal Timing in Girls and Boys

Pubertal timing may be influenced by typical variations in early family environmental events, but questions remain concerning the roles of specific parenting factors, developmental age of exposure to events, moderation by child temperament, and comparability of effects for girls and boys. This study focused on these questions utilizing longitudinal data from 733 same-sex twins (45% girls) in the U.S.; family context was measured at ages 1-3, 4-5, and 6-7 years and pubertal status was assessed annually via self-report at ages 9-15, enabling estimates of pubertal timing. Home environment at ages 4-5 years predicted pubertal timing better than home environment at other ages for both girls and boys, but parent personality was more predictive than home experiences (e.g., divorce, parental harshness, family conflict). Thus, effects of family environment must be considered within the context of parent characteristics, encouraging caution in implicating early environmental experiences as direct influences on early pubertal timing.

Trajectories of Violent and Nonviolent Behaviors From Adolescence to Early Adulthood: Does Early Puberty Matter, and, If So, How Long?

PURPOSE

It is well known that pubertal timing affects adolescents' externalizing behaviors, but it is unknown if this effect lasts into adulthood. This study assessed if and when the early maturation effect wanes, specifically in two domains of externalizing behaviors: nonviolent and violent behaviors.

METHODS

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) that include age-appropriate items of violent and nonviolent behaviors assessed from ages 11-30 over four waves (N = 4,255), we conducted a series of longitudinal growth curve analyses to evaluate the effect of pubertal timing on the trajectories of nonviolent and violent externalizing behaviors for males and females.

RESULTS

Compared to later maturing male peers, early maturing males reported significantly elevated overall externalizing, nonviolent, and violent behaviors throughout adolescence, but became indistinguishable from on-time and late-maturing counterparts in young adulthood. Similarly, early maturing females showed higher levels of overall externalizing and nonviolent behaviors than later maturing counterparts, but no effect of pubertal timing was seen on the trajectories of violent behaviors. However, early maturing females' overall externalizing and nonviolent behaviors also became indistinguishable from on-time and late-maturing females after adolescence.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings clarify the differential effect of early maturation on nonviolent and violent behaviors, especially in females, and highlight the short-lived nature of the effects of early pubertal timing.

Hearing the unheard voice-puberty experiences of young Pakistani men: A qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Puberty experiences of male adolescents can have significant impacts on physical and psychological health outcomes. This qualitative study explored the puberty experiences of young males in Pakistan, as there are limited accounts of what shapes these puberty experiences, especially for adolescent males living in a restrictive culture.

METHODS

Twenty-two young Pakistani men (aged 18-21 years) from two urban sites in Karachi participated in individual face-to-face (n=19) and Skype (n=3) interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using an inductive approach to identity and examine the patterns emerging from the data.

RESULTS

Participants described puberty as a challenging phase for which they were unprepared with a combination of various socio-cultural factors exposing them to negative impacts. As a result, young men expressed feelings of anxiety, embarrassment and isolation. Societal and gender norms around masculinity, sexuality and the roles and responsibilities of young men had a significant impact on how participants experienced puberty. While negative reactions towards puberty were dominant, participants described adopting coping strategies (e.g. social support) to help them deal with negative experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight the significance of culturally appropriate puberty education and various facilitating factors that may improve the puberty experiences for future young men. While extending current literature, this study also identifies key factors that could inform the development of health promotion programmes, which may aid adolescent males' puberty transition and positively influence their long-term health, well-being and identity.

Correspondence Between Perceived Pubertal Development and Hormone Levels in 9-10 Year-Olds From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

Aim

To examine individual variability between perceived physical features and hormones of pubertal maturation in 9-10-year-old children as a function of sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods

Cross-sectional metrics of puberty were utilized from the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study-a multi-site sample of 9-10 year-olds (n = 11,875)-and included perceived physical features via the pubertal development scale (PDS) and child salivary hormone levels (dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone in all, and estradiol in females). Multi-level models examined the relationships among sociodemographic measures, physical features, and hormone levels. A group factor analysis (GFA) was implemented to extract latent variables of pubertal maturation that integrated both measures of perceived physical features and hormone levels.

Results

PDS summary scores indicated more males (70%) than females (31%) were prepubertal. Perceived physical features and hormone levels were significantly associated with child's weight status and income, such that more mature scores were observed among children that were overweight/obese or from households with low-income. Results from the GFA identified two latent factors that described individual differences in pubertal maturation among both females and males, with factor 1 driven by higher hormone levels, and factor 2 driven by perceived physical maturation. The correspondence between latent factor 1 scores (hormones) and latent factor 2 scores (perceived physical maturation) revealed synchronous and asynchronous relationships between hormones and concomitant physical features in this large young adolescent sample.

Conclusions

Sociodemographic measures were associated with both objective hormone and self-report physical measures of pubertal maturation in a large, diverse sample of 9-10 year-olds. The latent variables of pubertal maturation described a complex interplay between perceived physical changes and hormone levels that hallmark sexual maturation, which future studies can examine in relation to trajectories of brain maturation, risk/resilience to substance use, and other mental health outcomes.

A Multi-Modal MRI Analysis of Cortical Structure in Relation to Gender Dysphoria, Sexual Orientation, and Age in Adolescents

Gender dysphoria (GD) is characterized by distress due to an incongruence between experienced gender and sex assigned at birth. Sex-differentiated brain regions are hypothesized to reflect the experienced gender in GD and may play a role in sexual orientation development. Magnetic resonance brain images were acquired from 16 GD adolescents assigned female at birth (AFAB) not receiving hormone therapy, 17 cisgender girls, and 14 cisgender boys (ages 12–17 years) to examine three morphological and microstructural gray matter features in 76 brain regions: surface area (SA), cortical thickness (CT), and T1 relaxation time. Sexual orientation was represented by degree of androphilia-gynephilia and sexual attraction strength. Multivariate analyses found that cisgender boys had larger SA than cisgender girls and GD AFAB. Shorter T1, reflecting denser, macromolecule-rich tissue, correlated with older age and stronger gynephilia in cisgender boys and GD AFAB, and with stronger attractions in cisgender boys. Thus, cortical morphometry (mainly SA) was related to sex assigned at birth, but not experienced gender. Effects of experienced gender were found as similarities in correlation patterns in GD AFAB and cisgender boys in age and sexual orientation (mainly T1), indicating the need to consider developmental trajectories and sexual orientation in brain studies of GD.

The ABCD study: understanding the development of risk for mental and physical health outcomes

Following in the footsteps of other large "population neuroscience" studies, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ (ABCD) study is the largest in the U.S. assessing brain development. The study is examining approximately 11,875 youth from 21 sites from age 9 to 10 for approximately ten years into young adulthood. The ABCD Study® has completed recruitment for the baseline sample generally using a multi-stage probability sample including a stratified random sample of schools. The dataset has a wealth of measured attributes of youths and their environment, including neuroimaging, cognitive, biospecimen, behavioral, youth self-report and parent self-report metrics, and environmental measures. The initial goal of the ABCD Study was to examine risk and resiliency factors associated with the development of substance use, but the project has expanded far beyond this initial set of questions and will also greatly inform our understanding of the contributions of biospecimens (e.g., pubertal hormones), neural alterations, and environmental factors to the development of both healthy behavior and brain function as well as risk for poor mental and physical outcomes. This review outlines how the ABCD Study was designed to elucidate factors associated with the development of negative mental and physical health outcomes and will provide a selective overview of results emerging from the ABCD Study. Such emerging data includes initial validation of new instruments, important new information about the prevalence and correlates of mental health challenges in middle childhood, and promising data regarding neural correlates of both healthy and disordered behavior. In addition, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities to understanding both healthy development and the emergence of risk from ABCD Study data. Finally, we will overview the future directions of this large undertaking and the ways in which it will shape our understanding of the development of risk for poor mental and physical health outcomes.

Restructuring of amygdala subregion apportion across adolescence

Total amygdala volumes develop in association with sex and puberty, and postmortem studies find neuronal numbers increase in a nuclei specific fashion across development. Thus, amygdala subregions and composition may evolve with age. Our goal was to examine if amygdala subregion absolute volumes and/or relative proportion varies as a function of age, sex, or puberty in a large sample of typically developing adolescents (N = 408, 43 % female, 10-17 years). Utilizing the in vivo CIT168 atlas, we quantified 9 subregions and implemented Generalized Additive Mixed Models to capture potential non-linear associations with age and pubertal status between sexes. Only males showed significant age associations with the basolateral ventral and paralaminar subdivision (BLVPL), central nucleus (CEN), and amygdala transition area (ATA). Again, only males showed relative differences in the proportion of the BLVPL, CEN, ATA, along with lateral (LA) and amygdalostriatal transition area (ASTA), with age. Using a best-fit modeling approach, age, and not puberty, was found to drive these associations. The results suggest that amygdala subregions show unique variations with age in males across adolescence. Future research is warranted to determine if our findings may contribute to sex differences in mental health that emerge across adolescence.

Relationship between parents' mental disorders and socioeconomic status and offspring's psychopathology: A cross-sectional study

Mental disorders (MD) are one of the main causes of the disease burden worldwide. Associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and presence of MD in parents have been related with increased odds of MD in offspring. However, there is a lack of population-based research in this field. The aim of the present study was to examine together the relationship between the presence of MD in children, and the SES and presence of MD in their parents, in a whole of population data. A gender approach was undertaken aiming to discern how these variables influence children's mental health when related with the father and the mother. Using administrative individual data from the National Health System, a retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. The entire children population aged 6 to 15 resident in Catalonia in 2017 was examined. A logistic regression model was performed. Low SES was associated with increased odds of children's MD. Offspring of a parent with MD were at more risk of presenting MD than offspring of parents without these problems. Although these associations were consistent for both boys and girls when looking at the father's or mother's SES and MDs, the mother's SES and MDs showed a higher association with the offspring's MDs than the father's. Lowest associations, found for boys when looking at the father's SES and MDs, were: OR of 1.21, 95%CI 1.16 to 1.27 for lowest SES, and OR of 1.66, 95%CI 1.61 to 1.70 for parental MDs. Children's familiar environment, which includes SES and mental health of parents, plays an important role in their mental health. Socially constructed gender roles interfere with SES and parent's MD. These findings support the relevance of examining MD and its risk factors within a gender approach.

Gray matter volumetric correlates of behavioral activation and inhibition system traits in children: An exploratory voxel-based morphometry study of the ABCD project data

Approach and avoidance represent two fundamental behavioral traits that develop early in life. Previous studies have examined the neural correlates of approach and avoidance traits in adults and adolescents. Here, using the data set of the Adolescent Brain Cognition Development project, we investigated the structural cerebral bases of behavioral activation system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) in children. We employed voxel-based morphometry to examine how gray matter volumes (GMV) related specifically to BAS and BIS traits in 11,542 children (5491 girls, age 9-10 years) with 648 and 2697 identified as monozygotic twins (MZ) and dizygotic twins/siblings (DZ), respectively. After accounting for the BIS score, higher BAS scores (residuals) were positively correlated with the GMV of the ventral striatum (VS), and the correlation was stronger in MZ than in DZ and unrelated children, with a heritability (h²) of 0.8463. Higher BAS scores were negatively correlated with the GMV of bilateral visual, lateral orbitofrontal, temporal, and inferior frontal cortex, as well as the precuneus. Higher BIS (after accounting for BAS) scores were negatively correlated with the GMVs of the ventral caudate and bilateral putamen/pallidum, hypothalamus, and right anterior insula, and the correlation was stronger in MZ than in DZ and unrelated children, with a heritability of 0.8848. A cluster in the VS showed positive and negative correlation with the BAS and BIS scores, respectively. These findings suggest shared and distinct cerebral volumetric bases of the BAS and BIS traits in children. Whereas both traits have a strong genetic basis, the BAS relative to BIS appears to be more amenable to environmental influences. These findings add to the literature of developmental neuroscience and may help identify genetic risk factors of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology.

Pubertal timing and self-harm: a prospective cohort analysis of males and females

AIMS

Early puberty is associated with an increased risk of self-harm in adolescent females but results for males are inconsistent. This may be due to the use of subjective measures of pubertal timing, which may be biased. There is also limited evidence for the persistence of pubertal timing effects beyond adolescence, particularly in males. The primary aim of the current study was therefore to examine the association between pubertal timing and self-harm in both sexes during adolescence and young adulthood, using an objective measure of pubertal timing (age at peak height velocity; aPHV). A secondary aim was to examine whether this association differs for self-harm with v. without suicidal intent.

METHODS

The sample (n = 5369, 47% male) was drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective birth cohort study. Mixed-effects growth curve models were used to calculate aPHV. Lifetime history of self-harm was self-reported at age 16 and 21 years, and associated suicidal intent was examined at age 16 years. Associations were estimated using multivariable logistic regression adjusted for a range of confounders. Missing data were imputed using Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations.

RESULTS

Later aPHV was associated with a reduced risk of self-harm at 16 years in both sexes (females: adjusted per-year increase in aPHV OR 0.85; 95% CI 0.75-0.96; males: OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.59-0.88). Associations were similar for self-harm with and without suicidal intent. There was some evidence of an association by age 21 years in females (adjusted per-year increase in aPHV OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.80-1.04), although the findings did not reach conventional levels of significance. There was no evidence of an association by age 21 years in males (adjusted per-year increase in aPHV OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.74-1.31).

CONCLUSIONS

Earlier developing adolescents represent a group at increased risk of self-harm. This increased risk attenuates as adolescents transition into adulthood, particularly in males. Future research is needed to identify the modifiable mechanisms underlying the association between pubertal timing and self-harm risk in order to develop interventions to reduce self-harm in adolescence.

Higher Executive Control Network Coherence Buffers Against Puberty-Related Increases in Internalizing Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

Early pubertal maturation has been posited to be a biopsychosocial risk factor for the onset of internalizing psychopathology in adolescence; further, early-maturing youths exhibit heightened reactivity to stressful events. School closures and enforced social distancing, as well as health and financial uncertainties, during the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to adversely affect mental health in youths, particularly adolescents who are already at risk for experiencing emotional difficulties. The executive control network (ECN) supports cognitive processes required to successfully navigate novel challenges and regulate emotions in stressful contexts.

METHODS

We examined whether functional coherence of the ECN, measured using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging 5 years before the pandemic (T1), is a neurobiological marker of resilience to increases in the severity of internalizing symptoms during COVID-19 in adolescents who were in more advanced stages of puberty at T1 relative to their same-age peers (N = 85, 49 female).

RESULTS

On average, participants reported an increase in symptoms from the 3 months before pandemic to the 2 most recent weeks during the pandemic. We found that early-maturing youths exhibited greater increases in internalizing symptoms during the pandemic if their ECN coherence was low; in contrast, relative pubertal stage was not associated with changes in internalizing symptoms in adolescents with higher ECN coherence at T1.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the role of the functional architecture of the brain that supports executive functioning in protecting against risk factors that may exacerbate symptoms of internalizing psychopathology during periods of stress and uncertainty.