Stress responses to social evaluation are thought to increase during adolescence, which may be due to pubertal maturation. However, empirical evidence is scarce. This study is the first to investigate the relation between pubertal development and biological responses to a social-evaluative stressor longitudinally. Participants performed the Leiden…

Life history theorists have proposed that humans have evolved to be sensitive to specific features of early childhood environments and that exposure to different environments biases children toward development of different reproductive strategies, including differential pubertal timing. The current research provides a longitudinal test of this…

A series of meta-analyses identified changes in parent-child conflict during adolescence and moderating factors. Results of age meta-analyses indicated that conflict rate and total conflict declined from early to mid adolescence and from mid to late adolescence; conflict affect increased from early to mid-adolescence. Puberty meta-analyses…

Each of 111 families with seventh grade daughters was observed in a family interaction task. Results indicated that conflict with parents, and especially with the mother, was more frequent shortly after menarche than at other times. Withdrawal of positive affect was associated with menarcheal status. (BC)

Assessed differences in masculinity, femininity, and sex role attitudes in adolescent girls and boys, and the relation of pubertal timing to intensification of those attitudes. Found that sex differences in masculinity and sex role attitudes increased with age. Pubertal timing was unrelated to masculinity, femininity, and sex role attitudes. (BC)