Puberty and transdiagnostic risks for mental health
Abstract
Puberty in girls represents a notable period of vulnerability for different psychological disorders. The research literature has primarily considered external and contextual factors that might explain these rises in symptomatology. In the present study, we investigate relations of pubertal status and timing with individual cognitive, emotional, and behavioral tendencies, commonly identified as transdiagnostic processes, in a sample of N = 228 girls (M age = 11.75 years). We also test whether these transdiagnostic processes mediate associations of pubertal status and pubertal timing with depressive symptoms. Results support greater endorsement of rumination, co-rumination, negative urgency, and both anxious and angry rejection sensitivity in girls with more advanced pubertal status, as well as in girls with early pubertal timing. Higher levels of transdiagnostic processes fully mediated associations of pubertal status and timing with depressive symptoms at significant and marginally significant levels, respectively. Although the data are cross-sectional, these findings offer promising preliminary evidence that transdiagnostic processes represent an important mental health risk in early adolescent girls.
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The increase in sex hormones at puberty plays a role in brain development, social outcomes, and mental health.
“Evidence suggests that the increase in sex hormones at puberty plays a role in brain development, 114-117 social outcomes, 118 and mental health. 119-121”
From The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health (2024) · cites this paper as [120]
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- Authors
- Mendle, J., Beam, C. R., McKone, K. M. P., & Koch, M. K.
- Affiliations
- Cornell University (US)
- University of Southern California (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mendle, Jane
- Koch, Mary Kate
- Venue
- Journal of Research on Adolescence
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-02-28
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 687-705
- ISSN
- 1050-8392 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7795
- OpenAlex
- W3007638918
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 1.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Research on Adolescence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Rebecca Q. Morgan and the Program for Research on Youth Development and Engagement
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Keywords
- puberty, pubertal timing, pubertal stage, transdiagnostic mechanisms, depressive symptoms, rumination, co-rumination, negative urgency, rejection sensitivity, early adolescence, girls, mental health risk
- MeSH terms
- Rumination, Cognitive, Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Emotions, Female, Humans, Puberty, Risk Factors
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