Cited by 320Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormonesEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

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Family environments, adrenarche and sexual maturation: a longitudinal test of a life history model

Ellis, Bruce J, Essex, Marilyn J·2007·Child Development

DOI 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01092.x

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Abstract

Life history theorists have proposed that humans have evolved to be sensitive to specific features of early childhood environments and that exposure to different environments biases children toward development of different reproductive strategies, including differential pubertal timing. The current research provides a longitudinal test of this theory. Assessments of family environments, based on interviews with mothers and fathers, were conducted in preschool, and children were then followed prospectively through middle childhood. Adrenal hormones were assayed in a selected subsample of 120 children (73 girls) at age 7, and parent and child reports of secondary sexual characteristics were collected in the full female sample of 180 girls at age 11. Higher quality parental investment (from both mothers and fathers) and less father-reported Marital Conflict/Depression forecast later adrenarche. Older age at menarche in mothers, higher socioeconomic status, greater mother-based Parental Supportiveness, and lower third-grade body mass index each uniquely and significantly predicted later sexual development in daughters. Consistent with a life history perspective, quality of parental investment emerged as a central feature of the proximal family environment in relation to pubertal timing.

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van Brummen-Girigori, O. J., & Buunk, A. P. (2015) · Evolution Mind and Behaviour · doi:10.1556/2050.2015.0002 · Cited by 17
“This finding is in line with several studies that have shown that girls who were abandoned by their father are less optimistic about their marriages being stable and about men being reliable investors (e.g., Draper & Harpending, 1982; Ellis & Essex, 2007; Ellis et al., 2003).”
BackgroundResult
Human reproductive strategies: An emerging synthesis?
Giudice, M. D. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x09000272 · Cited by 16
Evolutionary Psychology
Durrant, R., & Ellis, B. J. (2012) · Handbook of Psychology, Second Edition · doi:10.1002/9781118133880.hop203002 · Cited by 17
Self-citation
Puberty and its disorders in the male
Palmert, M. R., Dunkel, L., & Witchel, S. F. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-1-4557-4858-7.00026-3 · Cited by 15
Food Insecurity and Age at Menarche in Tampa Bay, Florida
Burris, M., Miller, E. M., Romero‐Daza, N., & Himmelgreen, D. (2020) · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · doi:10.1080/03670244.2020.1727464 · Cited by 15
“Cross-culturally, food insecurity is known to cause stress, worry, anxiety, and depression, and is connected to unstable and unpredictable food access (Connell et al. 2005; Ellis and Essex 2007; Leung et al. 2015).”
Background
Differences in Adolescents’ Alcohol Use and Smoking Behavior between Educational Tracks: Do Popularity Norms Matter?
Peeters, M., Laninga‐Wijnen, L., & Veenstra, R. (2021) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-021-01467-3 · Cited by 15
“Adolescents with a lower socioeconomic family background also more likely have an early pubertal maturation compared with peers with a higher socioeconomic family background (Ellis & Essex, 2007).”
Background
Evolution of neuroendocrine mechanisms linking attachment and life history: The social neuroendocrinology of middle childhood
Flinn, M. V., Muehlenbein, M. P., & Ponzi, D. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x09000089 · Cited by 15
Environmental Harshness and Unpredictability, Parenting, and Offspring Life History
Yang, A. T., Lu, H. J., & Chang, L. (2023) · Evolutionary Psychological Science · doi:10.1007/s40806-023-00375-y · Cited by 14
“…environmental conditions are aligned with harsh, inconsistent, and/or unresponsive parenting and fast LH calibrations (e.g., Belsky et al., 2007, 2010; Brumbach et al., 2009; Chen & Chang, 2012; Del Giudice & Belsky, 2011; Dunkel et al., 2015; Ellis & Essex, 2007; Warren & Barnett, 2020).”
Sleep deprivation alters pubertal timing in humans and rats: the role of the gut microbiome
Gunawan, S. P., Huang, S., Wang, C., Huynh, L. B. P., Nguyen, N. N., Hsu, S., & Chen, Y. (2023) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/zsad308 · Cited by 14
Using sequence analysis to test if human life histories are coherent strategies
Sheppard, P., & Winkle, Z. V. (2020) · Evolutionary Human Sciences · doi:10.1017/ehs.2020.38 · Cited by 14
“Nevertheless, other studies from high-income settings have found that childhood adversity, measured as low SES, was associated with earlier menarche (Ellis & Essex, 2007; James-Todd et al., 2010) and earlier first pregnancy or birth (Nettle et al., 2011; Sheppard et al., 2016).”
Background
Longitudinal effects of family psychopathology and stress on pubertal maturation and hormone coupling in adolescent twins
Phan, J., Hulle, C. A. V., Shirtcliff, E. A., Schmidt, N. L., & Goldsmith, H. H. (2020) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.22028 · Cited by 16
“…as maternal depression and family stress (Ellis & Garber, 2000), quality of family relationships (Ellis, Shirtcliff, Boyce, Deardorff, & Essex, 2011), father absence (Webster, Graber, Gesselman, Crosier, & Schember, 2014), and parental investment (Ellis & Essex, 2007), impact pubertal development.”
Background
The influence of pubertal timing and stressful life events on depression and delinquency among Chinese adolescents
Chen, J., Yu, J., Wu, Y., & Zhang, J. (2015) · PsyCh Journal · doi:10.1002/pchj.83 · Cited by 15
The Evolutionary Life History Model of Externalizing Personality: Bridging Human and Animal Personality Science to Connect Ultimate and Proximate Mechanisms Underlying Aggressive Dominance, Hostility, and Impulsive Sensation Seeking
Hengartner, M. P. (2017) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/gpr0000127 · Cited by 15
“…precocious timing of puberty and high adolescent fertility (Belsky, Schlomer, & Ellis, 2012; Belsky, Steinberg, Houts, & Halpern-Felsher, 2010; Ellis & Essex, 2007; Placek & Quinlan, 2012), younger age at first reproduction (Nettle, Coall, & Dickins, 2011; Painter et al., 2008; Wilson & Daly,…”
Life history and individual differences in male testosterone: Mixed evidence for early environmental calibration of testosterone response to first-time fatherhood
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The association of puberty and young adolescent alcohol use: Do parents have a moderating role?
Li, H., Kelly, A. B., Chan, G., Toumbourou, J. W., Patton, G. C., & Williams, J. W. (2014) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.05.006 · Cited by 13
Early menarche and risk‐taking behavior in Korean adolescent students
Kim, H. S., Choe, B. M., Park, J.-H., & Kim, S. H. (2017) · Asia-Pacific Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/appy.12273 · Cited by 12
“The timing of sexual maturation can be influenced by factors such as the family environment during childhood, parental investment in the child, and the presence of a supportive family environment(Ellis & Essex, 2007; Mendle et al., 2009).”
Background
Interaction Between Parenting Styles and Adrenarcheal Timing Associated With Affective Brain Function in Late Childhood
Barbosa, C., Simmons, J. G., Vijayakumar, N., Dudgeon, P., Patton, G. C., Mundy, L. K., Allen, N. B., & Whittle, S. (2018) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.05.016 · Cited by 11
Life History, Fertility, and Short-Term Mating Motivation
Kim, A., Bradshaw, H. K., Durante, K. M., & Hill, S. E. (2018) · Evolutionary Psychology · doi:10.1177/1474704918800062 · Cited by 13
“…SES women do not have the metabolic resources necessary to devote to expedited sexual development in societies with severe social class disparities in standards of living (for a discussion, see, e.g., Ellis, 2004; Ellis & Essex, 2007; James-Todd, Tehranifar, Rich-Edwards, Titievsky, & Terry, 2010).”
Background
The role of pubertal development in the association between trauma and internalising symptoms in female youth
MacSweeney, N., Thomson, P., von Soest, T., Tamnes, C. K., & Rakesh, D. (2025) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.14139 · Cited by 12
“…on how early life adversity is associated with pubertal development earlier in childhood, one longitudinal study found that lower parental supportiveness and higher marital conﬂict during preschool ages was associated with more advanced pubertal maturation in females at age 7 (Ellis & Essex, 2007).”
Sexual initiation among Canadian youth: A model comparison approach of evolutionary hypotheses shows greatest support for extrinsic mortality cues, intergenerational conflict, and early life psychosocial stressors
Snopkowski, K., & Ziker, J. P. (2019) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.08.003 · Cited by 12
“Empirical evidence has shown a reliable association between psychosocial stressors in childhood and reproductive outcomes, including age at adrenarche (Ellis and Essex 2007) and menarche (Moffitt et al.”
Background
Associations between early life harshness, parents' parenting style, and relationship quality in China
Li, H., & Zheng, L. (2021) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/pere.12391 · Cited by 12
The Promise and Peril of Coming of Age in the 21st Century
Lapsley, D. K. (2014) · Journal of Character Education · doi:10.1108/jced-12-2014-0003 · Cited by 12
The Impact of Asynchronous Pubertal Development on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood Among Females
Thompson, S. M., Hammen, C. L., & Brennan, P. A. (2015) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0402-1 · Cited by 14
“All analyses also incorporated maternal education status as a covariate, due to the association between social disadvantage and pubertal timing (Ellis and Essex 2007; Obeidallah et al. 2000).”
Father abandonment and jealousy: A study among women on Curaçao
van Brummen-Girigori, O. J., Buunk, A. P., Dijkstra, P., & Girigori, A. (2016) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.02.048 · Cited by 12
Sex-Specific Developmental Effects of Father Absence on Casual Sexual Behavior and Life History Strategy
Hehman, J. A., & Salmon, C. A. (2018) · Evolutionary Psychological Science · doi:10.1007/s40806-018-0173-5 · Cited by 12
Age at first intercourse in twins reared apart: Genetic influence and life history events
Segal, N. L., & Stohs, J. H. (2009) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.02.010 · Cited by 11
Sexual Risk Behaviors in the Adolescent Offspring of Parents with Bipolar Disorder: Prospective Associations with Parents’ Personality and Externalizing Behavior in Childhood
Nijjar, R., Ellenbogen, M. A., & Hodgins, S. (2016) · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · doi:10.1007/s10802-015-0112-x · Cited by 14
“…pubertal development, fostering earlier initiation of intercourse, more promiscuity, and less stable pair bonds in offspring (Belsky et al. 1991), while greater parent-child warmth and cohesion forecasts later pubertal development in girls (Ellis and Essex 2007; Graber et al. 1995; Steinberg 1988).”
Background
Sexual Behavior of Prepubertal Children
Campbell, C., Mallappa, A., Wisniewski, A. B., & Silovsky, J. F. (2013) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-387759-8.00006-4 · Cited by 11
Early Emotional Experiences and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Roles of Psychological Suzhi and Subjective Socioeconomic Status
Liu, X., Cao, G., Zhang, L., Chen, Y., Liu, S., Shi, Y., Liu, Y., Li, Y., & Yin, H. (2023) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs13040283 · Cited by 11
Family Experiences and Parent Personality as Antecedents of Pubertal Timing in Girls and Boys
DiLalla, L. F., Pham, H. T., Corley, R. P., Wadsworth, S. J., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2021) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-021-01424-0 · Cited by 10
“The present results combine with others (Belsky Houts et al., 2010; Ellis & Essex, 2007) to suggest that experiences at ages 4–5 might be particularly relevant for accelerating puberty, although it has been difficult to provide explicit statistical tests of developmental effects.”
Result
Puberty and Its Disorders in the Male
Palmert, M. R., Chan, Y.-M., & Dunkel, L. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-62520-3.00018-x · Cited by 10
Pubertal timing: A life course pathway linking early life risk to adulthood cardiometabolic health
Bleil, M. E., Appelhans, B. M., Gregorich, S. E., Hiatt, R. A., Roisman, G. I., & Booth‐LaForce, C. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0299433 · Cited by 9
Effects of social environments on male primate HPG and HPA axis developmental programming
Brown, E. R., Gettler, L. T., & Rosenbaum, S. (2024) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.22491 · Cited by 10

Authors: Ellis, B. J., & Essex, M. J.
Affiliations: University of Arizona (US)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
Corresponding author: Ellis, Bruce J
ORCID: Ellis, Bruce J
Essex, Marilyn J
Venue: Child Development
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published: 2007-11-01
Volume: 78
Issue: 6
Pages: 1799-1817
ISSN: 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
1467-8624
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01092.x
OpenAlex: W2024429459
Cited by: 320
References: 92
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 20
FWCI: 14.73
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights (vor)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 2 d)
Locations: Child Development (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH44340, P50-MH 52354, P50MH052354, R01MH044340)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords: adrenarche, pubertal timing, sexual maturation, life history theory, parental investment, family environment, marital conflict, parental depression, socioeconomic status, body mass index, menarche, early childhood, adrenal hormones, secondary sexual characteristics
MeSH terms: Adult, Age Factors, Autonomic Nervous System, Child, Child, Preschool, Depression, Family, Father-Child Relations, Female, Humans, Individuality, Life Change Events, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Prospective Studies, Puberty, Sexual Maturation, Social Environment, Social Support, Body Mass Index, Parenting, Adrenarche, Family Conflict

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Family environments, adrenarche and sexual maturation: a longitudinal test of a life history model

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