Empathy is an important social skill and is believed to play an essential role in moral development (Hoffman, 2000). In the present longitudinal study, the authors investigated adolescents' development of perspective taking and empathic concern from age 13 to 18 years (mean age at Wave 1 = 13 years, SD = 0.46) and examined its association with…

The purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between timing of adolescent development and risk factors for suicide. Nationally representative data from the Add Health survey were used. The relationship of sociodemographic characteristics, known risk factors, and physical developmental timing and cognitive developmental style to suicide…

This study examined the influence of pubertal timing upon family interactions in normal and psychiatric adolescent samples, emphasizing microanalysis of family behaviors and processes. It was found that on-time adolescents and their parents differed from both off-time groups. (Author/LMO)

Tested three hypotheses concerning effects of pubertal timing on substance use during early adolescence. Findings supported only the stage termination hypothesis. Early maturing boys and girls reported a higher frequency of substance use within the following year after puberty than did the other participants, with the effects being more pronounced…

The impact of different school environments on the process of incorporating adolescent physical changes into body image is explored using data on 225 White females from a longitudinal study. (Author/LMO)

Examined the possibility that the degree of synchronization between parent and adolescent ratings of pubertal maturity is related to faulty beliefs about interpersonal relationships in the family. Results indicated that adolescent-parent synchrony affected adolescents' faulty beliefs. Mothers' endorsement of faulty beliefs was related to…

Interviewed family members about family relationships and observed family members' interactions. Found that, compared to other girls, early maturing girls experienced higher levels of psychological distress; experienced greater psychological distress in grade 10 when they had a mixed-sex friendship network in grades 7 through 9; and were more…

As a result of discussions at a 1983 Social Science Research Council meeting, a study group was convened to bring together all the professionals currently examining maturation timing. This interdisciplinary group reports findings in two issues of this journal, and its work is introduced in this paper. (LMO)

Examined relation between puberty and adjustment problems in 7th through 10th-grade males. Found that, compared with less physically developed peers, more physically developed boys in grade 7 manifested more externalized hostile feelings and internalized distress in grades 8-10. Pubertal timing related to distress and hostility, even when…

Effects on adjustment of biological maturation and social timing were compared using data from a longitudinal sample of 335 young adolescents, who were followed from the sixth through eighth grades. (Author/LMO)

From 1964-71, 323 pairs of twins and 740 age-matched controls born in 1954-55, were investigated. Compared to schoolchildren in 1880 and 1940 the children in the present study were taller, reached maturity earlier and passed through puberty faster. No differences between socioeconomic strata defined by father's occupation and family income were…

Examined both concurrently and longitudinally the influence of pubertal development, perceptions of pubertal timing, and experience with parents on the development of eating problems in normal adolescent girls. Found that adolescent girls' positive relationships with both parents were related to healthier eating. Results suggest that the…

In order to clarify the complicated relationship between the onset of puberty and the transition from elementary to junior high school, a controlled study was designed that compared the transition of grade 5 elementary school students to grade 6 in an elementary school with the transition of grade 6 elementary school students to grade 7 in a…