Journal article
Early puberty and childhood social and behavioral adjustment
FK Mensah, JK Bayer, M Wake, JB Carlin, NB Allen, GC Patton
Journal of Adolescent Health | Published : 2013
Abstract
Purpose: Early puberty has been linked to higher rates of mental health problems in adolescence. However, previous studies commencing after the initiation of puberty have been unable to explore whether early puberty is preceded by higher rates of these problems. In a large national study, we aimed to determine whether difficulties in behavior and psychosocial adjustment are evident before as well as during the early pubertal transition. Methods: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children recruited a nationally representative cohort of 4,983 children at age 4-5 years in 2004. This analysis includes 3,491 of these children (70.1%) followed up at ages 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11 years, with a comple..
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Awarded by Australian Institute of Family Studies
Funding Acknowledgements
This article uses a confidentialized unit record file from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), initiated and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and managed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The authors thank families participating in the study. Murdoch Childrens Research Institute research is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Program. Dr Mensah and Dr Bayer were supported by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Population Health Capacity Building Grant 436914, and Dr Mensah by an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship 1037449. Professor Patton is supported by NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship 454360. Professor Wake was partly supported by two NHMRC Population Health Career Development Awards (284556 and 546405). Professor Allen is partially supported by a grant from the Colonial Foundation.