Investigates the interplay of puberty, gender, weight, and age in regard to body image and disordered eating behaviors and attitudes in a sample of early adolescents. Results reveal that after menarche, females had increased personal expectations and were dissatisfied with weight/shape changes. Young males at puberty desired to build up their…

Examines the effects and interactions of gender, pubertal status, and body weight on the self-concept of young adolescent Australian students. The mean self-concept score was significantly related to students' standard body weight, and there was an interaction between gender and puberty, with postpubertal males having the highest and…

To study sources of individual differences in pubertal development, the authors fit a sex-limitation common factor model to data reported, at ages 11 and 14 years, by 1,891 twin pairs on items that comprise the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS; A. C. Petersen, L. Crockett, M. Richards, & A. Boxer, 1988). The model divides variation into a general…

A community sample of 295 mothers, fathers, and children M age 11-14 years, SD2.32 years rated marital distress, maternal and paternal psychological symptoms, and child adjustment. The predicted direct relations between these family and child variables were demonstrated for both fathers and mothers. Tests of pathways among these variables were…

This study explored the relationship of both romantic and platonic involvement with boys, as well as pubertal status, to body image and depression symptoms among an ethnically diverse sample of sixth-grade girls. Participants were 157 early adolescent girls (ages 10-13) who completed self-report measures designed to assess girls' level of…

Young adolescents in communities with high rates of early sexual initiation are at risk of multiple negative health outcomes. Although sex education programs for this age group are often controversial, surveys document that many mothers and fathers would appreciate guidance about how to discuss sexuality with their children. This paper presents an…

Recently, much attention has been placed on the issue of bullying in schools, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Countries like Norway, Sweden, Japan, and Australia have been at the center of attention on issues related to bullying. It is generally believed that incidences of bullying are quite common among middle school students…

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…

A total of 137 mothers and 76 fathers of sixth graders rated their relationship with their child in terms of closeness or conflict. Parents also provided data concerning their expectations for their child's changes over the next 2 years, and the degree to which they influenced their child's behavior and would influence it when the child became an…

Twenty female gymnasts between the ages of twelve and fourteen were tested to determine possible difference in strength and flexibility before and after the development of an active menstrual cycle. Results indicate that females participating in gymnastics on a seriously competitive level tend to be short and light for their ages, as well as to…

Examines the impact of pubertal status and timing, independent of chronological age, on the family relationships of adolescents in 204 families with a firstborn child between the ages of 10 and 15. Measures included adolescent and parental reports of closeness, confict, and autonomy and assessments of adolesents' pubertal status and pubertal…

A total of 20 children with idiopathic precocious puberty; 27 adolescents with clinically delayed puberty; and an equivalent number of controls matched for sex, age, and IQ were given a battery of tests including measures of verbal and spatial abilities and a task using a dichotic listening procedure to assess hemispheric lateralization.…

Examined the relation between pubertal transition and qualitative aspects of the father-son relationship through a survey of 173 adolescent males and 122 fathers. Assessed physical affection, general support, companionship, and sustained contact over three levels of pubertal development. Found that perception of physical affection was the only…

Examined relationship between adolescent pubertal status, the affective quality of family relations, and the early adolescent's exploration of a sense of ego identity in families (N=51) with seventh-grade adolescents. Results revealed that affective quality of parent-child relationships and pubertal status of adolescent appeared to influence…