Abstract
The current study examined the influence of pubertal development stage on depression and its psychosocial mechanisms in a non-clinical population of 502 adolescents (244 boys and 258 girls) in China, graded 5 to 8. Results indicated that (1) pubertal development was positively correlated with depression, negative physical self and interpersonal stress. (2) There is a significant gender by pubertal development interaction on the measure of academic self-concept, which is accounted for by decreased academic self in boys but not in girls as a function of pubertal development. (3) Mediation analyses show that increased depression in late compared to pre- puberty is partly mediated by the enhancement of negative physical self and interpersonal stress. These findings suggest that the late stage of puberty is coupled by a higher risk of depression in adolescents partly through increased negative physical self and interpersonal stress.
Highlights
Adolescent depression is a common neuropsychiatric disorder
Studies of adolescent health showed that the incidence of depressive symptoms increases significantly after the age of 12 [5], and levels of depressive disorders were significantly higher in mid adolescence than in childhood [6, 7]
The results showed that the main effects of gender (F(1,494) = 5.910, p < 0.05) and pubertal stage (F(3,494) = 2.636, p < 0.05), as well as the gender by pubertal stage interaction (F(3,494) = 3.956, p < 0.01) were significant on the academic self
Summary
Adolescent depression is a common neuropsychiatric disorder. Epidemiological studies have shown that the onset of depression peaks in adolescence [1,2,3], and lifelong depression usually begins at puberty [4]. Studies of adolescent health showed that the incidence of depressive symptoms increases significantly after the age of 12 [5], and levels of depressive disorders were significantly higher in mid adolescence than in childhood [6, 7]. Studies have shown that pre-pubertal boys have a higher proportion of depressive symptoms than counterpart girls [14], with the development of puberty, the depression level of girls gradually increases with their developmental stage, especially by ages 12 to 13 or in the middle of puberty [15]. Previous researches have suggested that compared with childhood, the risk of adolescent depression increases, with greater prevalence in girls than in boys
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