Age at Menarche, Depression, and Antisocial Behavior in Adulthood

Abstract

Changes in biology, appearance, self-perception, behavior, and emotion make puberty one of the most pivotal phases in life. Although puberty presents challenges for all adolescents, girls who mature early are particularly vulnerable. Early pubertal timing in girls has been reported to be associated with increased prevalence and severity of psychopathology through late adolescence1. However, very few studies have focused on the long term impact of earlier development. This study suggests that girls who experienced earlier menarche continued to show higher rates of depressive symptoms and antisocial behaviors in early-to-middle adulthood even after accounting for demographic and contextual variables commonly associated with vulnerability for mental health. A challenge for future researchers is to specify the cognitive, social, neural, and biological mechanisms that mediate this continued risk and hopefully reverse them.