Abstract
Beginning at puberty, prevalence of depression in females rises dramatically. The physical changes of puberty coincide with a period of social flux, during which relationships become less stable and more prone to conflict. While this social upheaval is normatively distressing for girls, it may be especially so for girls with cognitive styles that leave them more susceptible to depression. The present study investigated depressive symptoms at two time points during early pubertal maturation. N = 110 girls (Mage = 11.57, SD = 0.98) reported on depressive symptomology, pubertal maturation, ruminative coping style, frequency of peer conflict, and rejection sensitivity. Multivariate analyses suggest more advanced pubertal development and greater rejection sensitivity at Time 1 predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms at Time 2, after accounting for baseline levels of depressive symptoms and all other social and cognitive correlates of depression. This effect was also found in early maturing girls. Menarche status was not significant. Since menarche occurs toward the end of puberty, results suggest that risk for worsening depression is not associated with completing puberty, or with menstruation itself. Rather, increases in depressive symptoms seem to be associated with physical changes that emerge early in the pubertal transition, especially for early maturing girls, paired with anticipatory concerns about social rejection.
Highlights
The major reproductive milestones in women’s lives – puberty, menstruation, childbirth, and menopause – all encompass major biological, psychological, and socioemotional changes
Because puberty is a time when interpersonal interactions become increasingly salient and fraught for girls, we sought to examine the contributions of common biopsychosocial correlates of depression – rumination, rejection sensitivity, peer conflict, and level of pubertal development – with exacerbations in depressive symptomology over a 4-month period
We examined these biopsychosocial correlates with respect to pubertal timing, considering whether these symptom trajectories might be intensified in girls who matured earlier than peers
Summary
The major reproductive milestones in women’s lives – puberty, menstruation, childbirth, and menopause – all encompass major biological, psychological, and socioemotional changes. Because puberty is a time when interpersonal interactions become increasingly salient and fraught for girls, we sought to examine the contributions of common biopsychosocial correlates of depression – rumination, rejection sensitivity, peer conflict, and level of pubertal development – with exacerbations in depressive symptomology over a 4-month period. We examined these biopsychosocial correlates with respect to pubertal timing, considering whether these symptom trajectories might be intensified in girls who matured earlier than peers. Are girls with more advanced pubertal status more likely to experience depressive symptoms at follow-up, after accounting for baseline levels of depression, rumination, rejection sensitivity, and interpersonal difficulties? Second, does this pattern of findings hold for early maturing girls?
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