Pubertal Development: Correspondence Between Hormonal and Physical Development
Open accessAbstract
Puberty is advanced by sex hormones, yet it is not clear how it is best measured. The interrelation of multiple indices of puberty was examined, including the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS), a picture-based interview about puberty (PBIP), and a physical exam. These physical pubertal measures were then associated with basal hormones responsible for advancing puberty. Participants included 160 early adolescents (82 boys). Puberty indices were highly correlated with each other. The physical exam stages correlated well with boys’ and girls’ testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone and less so with girls’ estradiol. The PDS and PBIP were similarly related to basal hormones. Self-report may be adequate when precise agreement is unnecessary. Multiple measures of puberty are viable options, each with respective strengths.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The results for self-reported pubertal changes concur with prior research on pubertal development showing that puberty starts earlier in girls than boys.
“The results for selfreported pubertal changes concur with prior research on pubertal development showing that puberty starts earlier in girls than boys (Carskadon and Acebo, 1993;Sisk and Foster, 2004;Shirtcliff et al., 2009).”
From Longitudinal Changes in Adolescent Risk-Taking: A Comprehensive Study of Neural Responses to Rewards, Pubertal Development, and Risk-Taking Behavior (2015) · cites this paper as Shirtcliff et al., 2009
The Methods describe a sample of boys and girls aged 9–14, and the Results and Discussion compare their pubertal measures, but the passages found do not say that puberty starts earlier in girls. Searches for earlier onset in girls and age differences between sexes found no passage addressing that comparison. (LLM, conf=0.72)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Adolescent Onset of the Gender Difference in Lifetime Rates of Major Depression: A Theoretical Model
Cyranowski, J. M., Frank, E., Young, E., & Shear, M. K. (2000) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.57.1.21 · Cited by 1,276 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For these reasons, biobehavioral researchers increasingly seek to examine measures of puberty to clarify studies of emotion-related neural circuitry (Nelson, Leibenluft, McClure, & Pine, 2005; Sisk & Foster, 2004), psychopathology (Angold & Worthman, 1993; Cyranowski, Frank, Young, & Shear, 2000 ), cognition (Steinber…”
BackgroundThe neural basis of puberty and adolescence
Sisk, C. L., & Foster, D. L. (2004) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1326 · Cited by 1,085 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For these reasons, biobehavioral researchers increasingly seek to examine measures of puberty to clarify studies of emotion-related neural circuitry (Nelson, Leibenluft, McClure, & Pine, 2005; Sisk & Foster, 2004 ), psychopathology (Angold & Worthman, 1993; Cyranowski, Frank, Young, & Shear, 2000), cognition (Steinber…”
BackgroundAngold, A. (1993) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/0165-0327(93)90029-j · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Biro, F. M., Lucky, A. W., Huster, G. A., & Morrison, J. A. (1995) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(95)70265-2 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Legro, R. S., Lin, H. M., Demers, L. M., & Lloyd, T. (2000) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jcem.85.3.6423 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Accuracy of pubertal Tanner staging self-reporting
Desmangles, J.-C., Lappe, J. M., Lipaczewski, G., & Haynatzki, G. (2006) · Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism · doi:10.1515/jpem.2006.19.3.213 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 36
- Boas SR Falsetti D Murphy TD Orenstein DM 1995 Validity of self-assessment of sexual maturation in adolescent male patients with cystic fibrosis J Adolesc Health 17 1 42 45 7578162
- Bond L Clements J Bertalli N Evans-Whipp T McMorris BJ Patton GC 2006 A comparison of self-reported puberty using the Pubertal Development Scale and the Sexual Maturation Scale in a school-based epidemiologic survey Journal of Adolescence 29 5 709 720 16324738
- Brooks-Gunn J Warren MP Rosso J Gargiulo J 1987 Validity of self-report measures of girls' pubertal status Child Dev 58 3 829 841 3608653
- Carskadon MA Acebo C Jenni OG Dahl RE Spear LP 2004 Regulation of adolescent sleep: Implications for behavior Adolescent brain development: Vulnerabilities and opportunities 276 291 New York Academy of Sciences 15251897
- Carskadon MA Harvey K Duke P Anders TF Litt IF Dement WC 1980 Pubertal changes in daytime sleepiness Sleep 2 4 453 460 7403744
- Coleman L Coleman J 2002 The measurement of puberty: A review Journal of Adolescence 25 535 550 12234559
- Dabbs JM Jr 1991 Salivary testosterone measurements: Collecting, storing, and mailing saliva samples Physiology and Behavior 49 815 817 1881989
- Dawes MA Dorn LD Moss HB Yao JK Kirisci L Ammerman RT 1999 Hormonal and behavioral homeostasis in boys at risk for substance abuse Drug Alcohol Depend 55 12 165 176 10402161
- Fernandez-Garcia B Lucia A Hoyos J Chicharro JL Rodriguez-Alonso M Bandres F 2002 The response of sexual and stress hormones of male pro-cyclists during continuous intense competition Int J Sports Med 23 8 555 560 12439770
- Finkelstein JW D'Arcangelo MR Susman EJ Chinchilli VM Kunselman SJ Schwab J 1999 Self-assessment of physical sexual maturation in boys and girls with delayed puberty J Adolesc Health 25 6 379 381 10608577
- Frank GR 2003 Role of estrogen and androgen in pubertal skeletal physiology Med Pediatr Oncol 41 3 217 221 12868122
- Geller B Rogol A Knitter E 1983 Preliminary data on the dexamethasone suppression test in children with major depressive disorder American Journal of Psychiatry 140 620 622 6846596
- Granger DA Shirtcliff EA Zahn-Waxler C Usher B Klimes-Dougan B Hastings P 2003 Salivary testosterone diurnal variation and psychopathology in adolescent males and females: individual differences and developmental effects Dev Psychopathol 15 2 431 449 12931836
- Grumbach MM 2002 The neuroendocrinology of human puberty revisited Horm Res 57 2 2 14 12065920
- Havelock JC Auchus RJ Rainey WE 2004 The rise in adrenal androgen biosynthesis: adrenarche Semin Reprod Med 22 4 337 347 15635501
- Hergenroeder AC Hill RB Wong WW Sangi-Haghpeykar H Taylor W 1999 Validity of self-assessment of pubertal maturation in African American and European American adolescents J Adolesc Health 24 3 201 205 10195803
- Hiort O 2002 Androgens and puberty Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 16 1 31 41 11987896
- Ikegami S Moriwake T Tanaka H Inoue M Kubo T Suzuki S 2001 An ultrasensitive assay revealed age-related changes in serum oestradiol at low concentrations in both sexes from infancy to puberty Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 55 6 789 795 11895221
- Liben LS Susman EJ Finkelstein JW Chinchilli VM Kunselman S Schwab J 2002 The effects of sex steroids on spatial performance: a review and an experimental clinical investigation Dev Psychol 38 2 236 253 11881759
- Lucky AW Biro FM Simbartl LA Morrison JA Sorg NW 1997 Predictors of severity of acne vulgaris in young adolescent girls: results of a five-year longitudinal study J Pediatr 130 1 30 39 9003848
- MacGillivray MH Morishima A Conte F Grumbach M Smith EP 1998 Pediatric endocrinology update: an overview. The essential roles of estrogens in pubertal growth, epiphyseal fusion and bone turnover: lessons from mutations in the genes for aromatase and the estrogen receptor Horm Res 49 1 2 8 9554463
- Maskarinec G Morimoto Y Novotny R Nordt FJ Stanczyk FZ Franke AA 2005 Urinary sex steroid excretion levels during a soy intervention among young girls: a pilot study Nutr Cancer 52 1 22 28 16091000 PMC1415269
- Morris NM Udry RJ 1980 Validation of a self-administered instrument to assess stage of adolescent development Journal of Youth and Adolescence 9 3 271 280 24318082
- Nelson EE Leibenluft E McClure EB Pine DS 2005 The social re-orientation of adolescence: a neuroscience perspective on the process and its relation to psychopathology Psychol Med 35 2 163 174 15841674
- Norris SA Richter LM 2005 Usefulness and reliability of tanner pubertal self-rating to urban Blac adolescents in South Africa Journal of Research on Adolescence 15 4 609 624
- Palmert MR Hayden DL Mansfield MJ Crigler JF Jr Crowley WF Jr Chandler DW 2001 The longitudinal study of adrenal maturation during gonadal suppression: evidence that adrenarche is a gradual process J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86 9 4536 4542 11549704
- Petersen A Crockett L Richards M Boxer A 1988 A self-report measure of pubertal status: Reliability, validity, and initial norms Journal of Youth and Adolescence 17 117 133 24277579
- Rosenfield RL Devine N Hunold JJ Mauras N Moshang T Jr Root AW 2005 Salutary effects of combining early very low-dose systemic estradiol with growth hormone therapy in girls with Turner syndrome J Clin Endocrinol Metab 90 12 6424 6430 16189255
- Rubinow DR Schmidt PJ 1996 Androgens, brain, and behavior Am J Psychiatry 153 8 974 984 8678193
- Schmitz KE Hovell MF Nichols JF Irvin VL Keating K Simon GM 2004 A validation study of early adolescents' pubertal self-assessments Journal of Early Adolescence 24 4 357 384
- Shirtcliff E Zahn-Waxler C Klimes-Dougan B Slattery M 2007 Salivary dehydroepiandrosterone responsiveness to social challenge in adolescents with internalizing problems J Child Psychol Psychiatry 48 6 580 591 17537074
- Shirtcliff EA Granger DA Schwartz E Curran MJ 2001 Use of salivary biomarkers in biobehavioral research: cotton-based sample collection methods can interfere with salivary immunoassay results Psychoneuroendocrinology 26 2 165 173 11087962
- Shirtcliff EA Granger DA Schwartz EB Curran MJ Booth A Overman WH 2000 Assessing estradiol in biobehavioral studies using saliva and blood spots: Simple radioimmunoassay protocols, reliability, and comparative validity Horm Behav 38 2 137 147 10964528
- Steinberg L 2000 Gallagher lecture. The family at adolescence: transition and transformation J Adolesc Health 27 3 170 178 10960215
- Steinberg L 2005 Cognitive and affective development in adolescence Trends Cogn Sci 9 2 69 74 15668099
- Steinberg L Dahl R Keating D Kupfer D Masten AS Pine D 2006 The study of developmental psychopathology in adolescence: Integrating affective neuroscience with the study of context Cicchetti D Cohen D Handbook of developmental psychopathology 2nd New York Wiley
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The role of puberty in the developing adolescent brain
Blakemore, S., Burnett, S., & Dahl, R. E. (2010) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.21052 · Cited by 1,011 · see citing works
Self-citationBehavioral problems after early life stress: contributions of the hippocampus and amygdala
Hanson, J. L., Nacewicz, B. M., Sutterer, M. J., Cayo, A. A., Schaefer, S. M., Rudolph, K. D., Shirtcliff, E. A., Pollak, S. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2015) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.020 · Cited by 627 · see citing works
Self-citationBraams, B. R., van Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K., Peper, J. S., & Crone, E. A. (2015) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4764-14.2015 · Cited by 617 · see citing works
Pubertal development and behavior: hormonal activation of social and motivational tendencies
Forbes, E. E., & Dahl, R. E. (2010) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2009.10.007 · Cited by 494 · see citing works
Self-citationHanson, J. L., Chung, M. K., Avants, B. B., Shirtcliff, E. A., Gee, J. C., Davidson, R. J., & Pollak, S. D. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0859-10.2010 · Cited by 455 · see citing works
Self-citationHankin, B. L., Young, J. F., Abela, J. R. Z., Smolen, A., Jenness, J. L., Gulley, L. D., Technow, J. R., Gottlieb, A. B., Cohen, J. R., & Oppenheimer, C. W. (2015) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000089 · Cited by 443 · see citing works
Colich, N. L., Rosen, M. L., Williams, E. S., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2020) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000270 · Cited by 433 · see citing works
Pfeifer, J. H., & Allen, N. B. (2021) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.09.002 · Cited by 411 · see citing works
Pubertal timing and the development of psychopathology in adolescence and beyond
Graber, J. A. (2013) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.04.003 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
Sumner, J. A., Colich, N. L., Uddin, M., Armstrong, D., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2019) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.09.008 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Executive functions in adolescence: inferences from brain and behavior
Crone, E. A. (2009) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00918.x · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Pfeifer, J. H., Masten, C. L., Moore, W. E., Oswald, T. M., Mazziotta, J. C., Iacoboni, M., & Dapretto, M. (2011) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.02.019 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Sleep and the transition to adolescence: a longitudinal study
Sadeh, A., Dahl, R. E., Shahar, G., & Rosenblat-Stein, S. (2009) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/32.12.1602 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Self-citationSilk, J. S., Siegle, G. J., Lee, K. H., Nelson, E. E., Stroud, L. R., & Dahl, R. E. (2014) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nst175 · Cited by 231 · see citing works
Self-citationHerting, M. M., Gautam, P., Spielberg, J. M., Kan, E., Dahl, R. E., & Sowell, E. R. (2014) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.22575 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Self-citationHanson, J. L., Chung, M. K., Avants, B. B., Rudolph, K. D., Shirtcliff, E. A., Gee, J. C., Davidson, R. J., & Pollak, S. D. (2012) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0307-12.2012 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial exclusion and punishment of excluders: Neural correlates and developmental trajectories
Gunther Moor, B., Güroğlu, B., Op de Macks, Z. A., Rombouts, S. A. R. B., Van der Molen, M. W., & Crone, E. A. (2012) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.07.028 · Cited by 207 · see citing works
Op de Macks, Z. A., Moor, B. G., Overgaauw, S., Güroğlu, B., Dahl, R. E., & Crone, E. A. (2011) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2011.06.003 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Self-citationTelomere length and cortisol reactivity in children of depressed mothers
Gotlib, I. H., LeMoult, J., Colich, N. L., Foland-Ross, L. C., Hallmayer, J., Joormann, J., Lin, J., & Wolkowitz, O. M. (2015) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2014.119 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
The relationship between puberty and social emotion processing
Goddings, A., Burnett Heyes, S., Bird, G., Viner, R. M., & Blakemore, S. (2012) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01174.x · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Adolescent Neurodevelopment and Vulnerability to Psychosis
Patel, P. K., Leathem, L. D., Currin, D. L., & Karlsgodt, K. H. (2021) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.06.028 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Natsuaki, M. N., Klimes-Dougan, B., Ge, X., Shirtcliff, E. A., Hastings, P. D., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374410902976320 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Self-citationMoore, W. E., Pfeifer, J. H., Masten, C. L., Mazziotta, J. C., Iacoboni, M., & Dapretto, M. (2012) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsr066 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Peters, S., Jolles, D. J., Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K. V., Crone, E. A., & Peper, J. S. (2015) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.01.004 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Puberty as a Developmental Context of Risk for Psychopathology
Rudolph, K. D. (2014) · Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-9608-3_17 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Episodic future thinking is related to impulsive decision making in healthy adolescents
Bromberg, U., Wiehler, A., & Peters, J. (2015) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12390 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Adolescent brain development and contextual influences: a decade in review
Galván, A. (2021) · Journal of Research on Adolescence · doi:10.1111/jora.12687 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Vijayakumar, N., Whittle, S., Dennison, M., Yücel, M., Simmons, J., & Allen, N. B. (2014) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2013.12.002 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
LeMoult, J., Ordaz, S. J., Kircanski, K., Singh, M. K., & Gotlib, I. H. (2015) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000087 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Sex Differences in the Contributions of Visceral and Total Body Fat to Blood Pressure in Adolescence
Pausova, Z., Mahboubi, A., Abrahamowicz, M., Leonard, G. T., Perron, M., Richer, L., Veillette, S., Gaudet, D., & Paus, T. (2012) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.111.180372 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Testosterone during puberty shifts emotional control from pulvinar to anterior prefrontal cortex
Tyborowska, A., Volman, I., Smeekens, S., Toni, I., & Roelofs, K. (2016) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3874-15.2016 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Baker, F. C., Willoughby, A. R., Massimiliano, D. Z., Franzen, P. L., Prouty, D., Javitz, H., Hasler, B., Clark, D. B., & Colrain, I. M. (2016) · SLEEP · doi:10.5665/sleep.5978 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Goldstone, A., Willoughby, A. R., de Zambotti, M., Franzen, P. L., Kwon, D., Pohl, K. M., Pfefferbaum, A., Sullivan, E. V., Müller-Oehring, E. M., Prouty, D. E., et al. (2018) · Brain Structure and Function · doi:10.1007/s00429-017-1509-9 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Maes, C., Trekels, J., Tylka, T. L., & Vandenbosch, L. (2021) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.05.004 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Puberty and functional brain development in humans: convergence in findings?
Dai, J., & Scherf, K. S. (2019) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100690 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Sexual differentiation of neural mechanisms of stress sensitivity during puberty
Wright, E. C., Luo, P. X., Zakharenkov, H. C., Serna Godoy, A., Lake, A. A., Prince, Z. D., Sekar, S., Culkin, H. I., Ramirez, A. V., Dwyer, T., et al. (2023) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2306475120 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Elsenburg, L. K., Smidt, N., & Liefbroer, A. C. (2017) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000401 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
- Authors
- Shirtcliff, E. A., Dahl, R. E., & Pollak, S. D.
- Affiliations
- LSU New Orleans (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A
- Venue
- Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-03-01
- Volume
- 80
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 327-337
- ISSN
- 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8624
- PMC
- PMC2727719
- OpenAlex
- W2113746812
- Cited by
- 614
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 34 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 70 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 25.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH61285, R24MH067346, K01MH077687, R24; MH67346, R01MH068858, R01MH061285)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30HD03352., P30HD003352)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Keywords
- puberty, pubertal development, Pubertal Development Scale, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, estradiol, sex hormones, self-report measures, adolescent boys
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Dehydroepiandrosterone, Estradiol, Female, Humans, Male, Physical Examination, Puberty, Gonadal Steroid Hormones, Sexual Maturation, Testosterone, Adolescent Development
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
