Adolescents with varying combinations of pubertal delay and growth retardation were given the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire. Delay in sexual maturation by itself had no deleterious effect on self-image but growth retardation did. (Author/GK)

Issues in studying pubertal events are examined, including whether puberty is best characterized as a social construction or a physical event, whether early adolescence is a transitional or distinct life period, life events associated with puberty, boundaries of early adolescence, and possible models for studying pubertal change. (Author/BW)

Examined factors predicting body change strategies to increase weight and muscle mass among adolescent males over an 8-month period. Results for 435 adolescent boys show that extreme body change strategies are predicted by the adoption of more normative body change strategies at an earlier time, and that body change strategies are affected by…

Cultural differences have been found in body image perceptions among Black and White adolescents, however little is known about the factors associated with perceptions of an ideal body size (IBS). This study examined differences in correlates of IBS among 265 Black (116 girls and 62 boys) and White (63 girls and 24 boys) adolescents. IBS for White…

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)

Interrelationships of physical self-satisfaction, self-esteem, and identity, and their ability to predict satisfaction with an individual's social milieu were investigated. Prediction patterns yielded no differences between grades 8, 10, and 12. Self-esteem was the best predictor for males; identity and physical self-satisfaction for females.…

The premise that effects of maturational timing are mediated by social context is explored by comparing adolescent girls in dance and nondance schools. The findings are discussed in terms of a goodness of fit between the requirements of a social context and a person's physical and behavioral characteristics. (Author/LMO)

The psychological experience of ejaculation was examined for 188 Nigerian adolescent boys to determine emotional reactions, feelings of preparedness, sources of preexperience information, and the extent of peer discussion after the experience. The experience was not perceived negatively, and boys usually told their friends. Most suppliers of…

Fifty-one families responded to questionnaires on affective relations between parents and their adolescent children. On the basis of the pubertal status of their children, families were classified into prepubertal, transpubertal, or postpubertal groups. Results showed that differences in family relationships were due to the transformation of…

The associations between menarcheal status and several child-rearing and outcome variables were examined for mother-daughter and father-daughter dyads. The results indicated that most of the significant relations occurred for the mother-daughter dyad, and most of these relations were curvilinear. (Author/LMO)

Relationships between biological pubertal events and self-image were studied for 59 healthy adolescent boys in Finland at ages 13 and 14. During the year, self-image increased in four domains, with changes in Impulse Control and Emotional Tone related to pubertal events. Changes in emotional health or sexual attitudes did not correlate with body…

The social maps of preadolescent (grade 6) children were investigated. The focus was on characteristics of children's social networks as a function of neighborhood type, socioeconomic status, and level of physical maturation. The social heterogeneity of the network (peer vs adult salience) was of primary concern. (Author/RD)

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)

The process of self-disclosure among adolescents and parents may change as a result of adolescent development, specifically, changes in cognitive and physical development and self-concept. Implications of changes in self-disclosure are discussed in relation to parent-adolescent interaction. (Author/EGS)

This paper reviews some of the maturational events that are applicable in studying psychological effects of pubertal status and timing. Nine changes are reviewed (bone, height, weight, body fat, breast, body hair, penile, testicular, and menarcheal changes) in terms of measurement techniques, psychometric properties, and intercorrelations with…