The developmental significance of youths' racial identities during adolescence is well established. It is less clear how puberty, a normative process, influences the relationship between racial identity and adjustment outcomes during adolescence. This study examined whether puberty moderates the relationship between racial identity dimensions and…

This study examined pubertal maturation, pubertal timing and outcomes, and the relationship of puberty and sexual identity developmental milestones among 507 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. The onset of menarche and spermarche occurred at the mean ages of 12.05 and 12.46, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in…

In this essay, we argue that viewing adolescence within the full life course will improve our understanding of both adolescence itself and the life course more generally. Such an approach makes explicit how adolescence is linked to developmental processes in the years both before and after adolescence in ways that are shaped by broader patterns of…

We tested the peer-socialization/contextual-amplification explanation for the link between early female puberty and problem behaviour. We propose that in cultures with high tolerance for adolescent heterosexual involvement, early puberty should be linked with problem behaviour--not in other cultures. We compared girls in two cultures (Slovakia and…

Subjective age generally refers to the age that one feels. In a cross-sectional questionnaire study of 245 adolescents ages 10-14 years, we examined (a) whether, and when, a cross-over in subjective age occurs, (b) differences in subjective age among pubertal timing groups, (c) correlations between subjective age and each of desired age and five…

Maternal ratings of explosiveness, opposition, and aggression were analyzed in 1609 children 6-16 years of age. Behavior problems were common in autism, ADHD-Combined type, and depression, whereas children with ADHD-Inattentive type, anxiety disorder, and acquired brain injury did not differ from typical controls. More than 40% of children with…

Drawing on two nationally representative German studies (N[subscript 1] = 1744, N[subscript 2] = 759), we examined correlates of early, on-time, and late curfew autonomy, a retrospective indicator of behavioural autonomy, in young and middle adulthood (19-37 years of age). Adjustment in four domains was considered: educational attainment,…

This study examines family and child characteristics, parent and peer relationships, and early adolescent behavior as statistical predictors of trajectories of number of sexual partners from midadolescence through early adulthood using data from 527 participants in the Child Development Project. Early adolescent developmental antecedents accounted…

An accumulating body of literature has shown a link between early pubertal maturation and internalizing problems, particularly among girls. Our knowledge is, however, limited with regard to what accounts for this association. Based on a hypothesis that early maturing girls have heightened stress sensitivity that increases the risk of internalizing…

This study examined the relationship among pubertal timing, parental control, and problem behaviors. There were 267 participants, whose ages ranged from 9 to 16 years. Both maternal and paternal psychological control predicted problem behaviors over and above the effects of behavioral control. For boys, early maturation and high levels of paternal…

The objectives of this research were to explore patterns of heterosexual activity in early adolescence and to examine the differential pathways to light and heavy heterosexuality. We utilized the National Longitudinal Survey of Canadian Children and Youth (NLSCY) in which heterosexual behaviors, as well as puberty, parenting processes, peer…

This study explored factors that may be associated with early initiation of sexual activity among adolescents. Using the cumulative risk model, we hypothesized that as exposure to risk factors increases, so does the likelihood of early sexual debut. A sample of 273 (53% girls, 90% European American) adolescents was followed longitudinally from age…

The present research explores risk factors for, and longitudinal associations of, sexual harassment by peers during adolescence. Eight-hundred and seventy-two African American and European American adolescents (65.4% African American, 51.1% females) were assessed during the summer after the eighth grade (mean age=14.2 years) and then again in the…

Background: Little is known about the factors affecting the risk of behavioural and emotional problems in young people with severe intellectual disability (ID), although such evidence as there is suggests that there may be differences between the pattern of risk factors in this group and those that operate in general population samples of the same…

Relations among hormone levels, emotional dispositions, and aggressive attributes were examined in 56 boys and 52 girls, aged 9 to 14 years. (PCB)