Family Rearing Antecedents of Pubertal Timing
Jay Belsky,
Laurence D. Steinberg, Renate M. Houts, Sarah L. Friedman, Ganie DeHart, Elizabeth Cauffman, Glenn I. Roisman, Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher,
Elisabeth Susman, The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network,
Corresponding Author
Jay Belsky
Birkbeck University of London
concerning this article should be addressed to Jay Belsky, Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck University of London, 7 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3RA, United Kingdom. Electronic mail may be sent to [email protected].Search for more papers by this authorBonnie L. Halpern-Felsher
University of California, San Francisco
Search for more papers by this authorThe NICHD Early Child Care Research Network
Birkbeck University of London
Search for more papers by this authorJay Belsky,
Laurence D. Steinberg, Renate M. Houts, Sarah L. Friedman, Ganie DeHart, Elizabeth Cauffman, Glenn I. Roisman, Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher,
Elisabeth Susman, The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network,
Corresponding Author
Jay Belsky
Birkbeck University of London
concerning this article should be addressed to Jay Belsky, Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck University of London, 7 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3RA, United Kingdom. Electronic mail may be sent to [email protected].Search for more papers by this authorBonnie L. Halpern-Felsher
University of California, San Francisco
Search for more papers by this authorThe NICHD Early Child Care Research Network
Birkbeck University of London
Search for more papers by this authorThis research is directed by a steering committee and supported a cooperative agreement (U10) with NICHD requiring scientific collaboration between the grantees and NICHD staff. Participating investigators on the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, listed alphabetically, are: Jay Belsky, Birkbeck University of London; Cathryn Booth-LaForce, University of Washington; Robert Bradley, University of Arkansas, Little Rock; Celia Brownell, University of Pittsburgh; Susan B. Campbell, University of Pittsburgh; Elizabeth Cauffman, University of California, Irvine; K. Alison Clarke-Stewart, University of California, Irvine; Sarah L. Friedman, Institute for Public Research , The CNA Corporation, Alexandria, Virginia; Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher, University of California San Francisco; Renate M. Houts, RTI International; Bonnie Knoke, RTI International; Kathleen McCartney, Harvard University; Philip Nader, University of California, San Diego; Marion O’Brien, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Ross Parke, University of California, Riverside; Robert Pianta, University of Virginia; Glenn I. Roisman, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign; Susan Spieker, University of Washington; Laurence D. Steinberg, Temple University; Elisabeth Susman, Penn State University; Deborah Lowe Vandell, University of California, Irvine; Marsha Weinraub, Temple University.
Abstract
Two general evolutionary hypotheses were tested on 756 White children (397 girls) studied longitudinally: (1) rearing experiences would predict pubertal timing; and (2) children would prove differentially susceptible to rearing. Analysis of pubertal measurements, including some based on repeated physical assessments, showed that mothering and fathering, earlier and later in childhood, predicted pubertal development, but only for girls, with negative parenting appearing most influential; maternal harsh control predicted earlier menarche. Rearing effects varied by infant negative emotionality, proving stronger (and opposite) for girls who in infancy were lower rather than higher in negativity. Maternal menarche, controlled in all analyses, was a stronger predictor than rearing. Findings are discussed in terms of theory development, genetic and nutritional influences, and sample restrictions.
References
- Abioye-Kuteyi, E. A., et al. (1997). The Influence of Socioeconomic and Nutritional Status on Menarche in Nigerian School Girls. Nutrition and Health, 11, 185–195.
- Adadevoh, S. W., Agble, T. K., Hobbs, C., & Elkins, T. E. (1989). Menarcheal age in Ghanaian school girls. International Journal of Gynecology and Obsterics, 30, 63–68.
- Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Ainsworth, M. D., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978) Patterns of attachement: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Apter, D., & Vihko, R. (1983). Early menarche, a risk factor for breast cancer, indicates early onset of ovulatory cycles. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 57, 82–86.
- Belsky, J. (1997). Theory testing, effect-size evaluation, and differential susceptibility to rearing influence: The case of motheringand attachment. Child Development, 64, 598–600.
- Belsky, J. (2000). Conditional and alternative reproductive strategies. In J. L. Rodgers, D. C. Rowe, & W. B. Miller (Eds.), Genetic influences on human ertility and sexuality: Theoretical and empirical contributions from the biological and behavioural sciences (pp. 127–145). Boston: Kluwer Academic.
- Belsky, J. (2005). Differential susceptibility to rearing influence. In B. J. Ellis & D. F. Bjorklund (Eds.), Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development (pp. 139–163). New York: Guilford Press.
- Belsky, J. (2007). Childhood experiences and reproductive strategies. In R. Dunbar & H. Barrett (Eds.), Oxford handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 237–254). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Belsky, J., Fish, M., & Isabella, R. (1991). Continuity and discontinuity in infant negative and positive emotionality: Family antecedents and attachment consequences. Developmental Psychology, 27, 421–431.
- Belsky, J., Steinberg, L., & Draper, P. (1991). Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary theory of socialization. Child Development, 62, 647–670.
- Biro, F. M., et al. (2006). Pubertal correlates in black and white girls. Journal of Pediatrics, 148, 234–240.
- Bokhorst, C., Bakermans-Kranenburg, J., Fearon, R. P., Van IJzendoorn, M., Fonagy, P., & Schuengel, C. (2003). The importance of shared environment in mother-infant attachment security: A behavioral genetic study. Child Development, 74, 1769–1782.
- Boothroyd, L. G., & Perrett, D. I. (2006). Facial and bodily correlates of family background. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 273, 2375–2380.
- Blair, C. (2002). Early intervention for low birth weight preterm infants: The role of negative emotionality in the specification of effects. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 311–332.
- Bogaert, A. F. (2005). Age at puberty and father absence in a national probability sample. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 541–546.
- Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 271–301.
- Cameron, N. M., et al. (2005). The programming of individual differences in defensive responses and reproductive strategies in the rat through variations in maternal care. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 29, 843–865.
- Campbell, B. C., & Udry, J. R. (1995). Stress and age at menarche of mothers and daughters. Journal of Biosocial Science, 27, 127–134.
- Chumlea, W. C., et al. (2003). Age of menarche and racial comparisons in US girls. Pediatrics, 111, 110–113.
-
Collins, L. M., & Flaherty, B. P. (2002). Latent class models for longitudinal data. In
J. A. Hagenaars &
A. L. McCutcheon (Eds.), Applied latent class analysis (pp. 287–303). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
10.1017/CBO9780511499531.011 Google Scholar
- Collins, W. A., & Steinberg, L. (2006). Adolescent development in interpersonal context. In N. Eisenberg (Vol. 2, Ed.), Social, emotional, and personality development. Handbook of child psychology ( W. Damon & R. Lerner, Eds., pp. 1003–1067). New York: Wiley.
- Comings, D., Muhleman, D., Johnson, J., & MacMurray, J. (2002). Parent-daughter transmission of androgen receptor gene as an explanation of the effect of father absence on age of menarche. Child Development, 73, 1046–1051.
- Doughty, D., & Rodgers, J. L. (2000). Behavior genetic modeling of menarche in US females. In J. L. Rodgers, D. C. Rowe & W. B. Miller (Eds.), Genetic influences on human fertility and sexuality: Theoretical and empirical contributions from the biological and behavioral sciences (pp. 169–181). Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Ellis, B. J. (2004). Timing of pubertal maturation in girls. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 920–958.
- Ellis, B., et al. (2003). Does father absence place daughters at special risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy? Child Development, 74, 801–821.
- Ellis, B. J., & Essex, M. J. (June, 2006). Family environments, adrenarche, and pubertal timing: A longitudinal test of a life history model. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Philadelphia, PA.
- Ellis, B. J., & Garber, J. (2000). Psychosocial antecedents of variation in girls’ pubertal timing. Child Development, 71, 485–501.
- Ellis, B. J., McFadyen-Ketchum, S., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S. & Bates, J. E. (1999). Quality of early family relationships and individual differences in the timing of pubertal maturation in girls. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 387–401.
-
Ellis, N. (1991). An extension of the Steinberg accelerating hypothesis.
Journal of Early Adolescence, 11, 221–235.
10.1177/0272431691112004 Google Scholar
- Ge, X., Brody, G. H., Conger, R. D., Simons, R. L., & Murry, V. (2002). Contextual amplification of pubertal transitional effect on African American children’s problem behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 38, 42–54.
- Golden, W. L. (1981). Reproductive histories in a Norwegian twin population: Evaluation of the maternal effect in early spontaneous abortion. Acta Genet Med Gemellol, 30, 91–165.
- Graber, J. A., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Warren, M. P. (1995). The antecedents of menarcheal age: Heredity, family environment, and stressful life events. Child Development, 66, 346–359.
- Graber, J. A., Seeley, J. R., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Lewinsohn, P. M. (2004). Is pubertal timing associated with psychopathology in young adulthood? Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 718–726.
- Harlan, W. R., Harlan, E. A., & Grillo, C. P. (1980). Secondary sex characteristics of girls 12-17 years of age: The U.S. Health Examination Survey. Journal of Pediatrics, 96, 1074–1078.
- Herman Giddens, M., & Bourdony, C. (1995). Assessment of sexual maturity strategies in girls. Chicago: American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Herman Giddens, M., et al. (1997). Secondary sexual characteristics and menses in young girls seen in office practice. A study of the Pediatric Research in Office Settings Network. Pediatrics, 99, 505–512.
- Hetherington, E. M., & Kelly, J. (2002). For better or for worse: Divorce reconsidered. New York: Norton.
- Hoier, S. (2003). Father absence and age at menarche. Human Nature, 14, 209–233.
-
Hulanicka, B. (1999). Acceleration of menarcheal age of girls from dysfunctional families.
Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 17, 119–132.
10.1080/02646839908409092 Google Scholar
- Hulanicka, B., Gronkiewicz, L., & Koniarek, J. (2001). Effect of familial distress on growth and maturation of girls: A longitudinal study. American Journal of Human Biology, 13, 771–776.
- Jones, B., Leeton, J., McLeod, I., & Wood, C. (1972). Factors influencing the age of menarche in a lower socio-economic group in Melbourne. The Medical Journal of Australia, 2, 533–535.
- Jorm, A., Christensen, H., Rodgers, B., Jacomb, P., & Easteal, S. (2004).Association of adverse childhood experiences, age of menarche and adult reproductive behaviour: Does the androgen receptor gene play a role? American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B: Nueropsychiatric Genetics, 125, 105–111.
- Kadlubar, F. F., et al. (2003). The CYP3A4*1B variant is related to the onset of puberty, a known risk factor for the development of breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, 12, 327–331.
- Kaprio, J., et al. (1995). Common genetic influences on BMI and age at menarche. Human Biology, 67, 739–753.
- Kim, K., & Smith, P. (1998a). Retrospective survey of parental marital relations and child reproductive development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 22, 729–751.
- Kim, K., & Smith, P. K. (1998b). Childhood stress, behavioural symptoms and mother-daughter pubertal development. Journal of Adolescence, 21, 231–240.
- Kim, K., Smith, P. K., & Palermiti, A. (1997). Conflict in childhood and reproductive development. Evolution and Human Behavior, 18, 109–142.
- Kiernan, K. E., & Hobcraft, J. (1997). Parental divorce during childhood: Age at first intercourse, partnership and parenthood. Population Studies, 51, 41–55.
- Largo, R. H., & Prader, A. (1983a). Pubertal development in Swiss boys. Helv. Paediat. Acata, 38, 211–228.
- Largo, R. H., & Prader, A. (1983b). Pubertal development in Swiss girls. Helv. Paediat. Acata, 38, 229–243.
- Malo, J., & Tremblay, R. (1997). The impact of paternal alcoholism and maternal social position on boys’ school adjustment, pubertal maturation and sexual behaviour. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 187–197.
- Marshall W. A., & Tanner J. M. (1969) Variations in the pattern of pubertal changes in girls. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 44, 291–303.
- Marshall W. A., & Tanner J. M. (1970) Variations in the pattern of pubertal changes in boys. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 45, 13–21.
- Matchock, R., & Susman, E. J. (2006). Family composition and menarcheal age: Anti- inbreeding strategies. American Journal of Human Biology, 18, 481–491.
- McClelland, G. H., & Judd, C. M. (1993). Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effecs. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 376–390.
- McClintock, M. K., & Herdt, G. (1996). Rethinking puberty: The development of sexual attraction. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 5, 178–183.
- McLloyd, V. (1988). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. American Psychologist, 53, 185–204.
- Meaney, M. J. (2001). The development of individual differences in behavioural and endocrine responses to stress. Annual Review of Nueroscience, 24, 1161–1192.
- Mekos, D., Hetherington, E. M., & Clingempeel, W. G. (March, 1992). Psychosocial influences on the rate and timing of pubertal development. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Washington, DC.
- Mendle, J., et al. (2006). Family structure and age of menarche: A children-of-twins approach. Developmental Psychology, 42, 533–542.
- Mezzich, A. C., et al. (1997). Substance use and risky sexual behavior in female adolescents. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 44, 157–166.
-
Miller, W. B., & Pasta, D. J. (2000). Early family environment, reproductive strategy, and contraceptive behavior: Testing a genetic hypothesis. In
J. L. Rodgers,
D. C. Rowe &
W. B. Miller (Eds.), Genetic Influences on Human Fertility and Sexuality (pp. 183–230). Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
10.1007/978-1-4615-4467-8_12 Google Scholar
- Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Belsky, J., & Silva, P. A. (1992). Childhood experience and the onset of menarche: A test of a sociobiological model. Child Development, 63, 47–58.
- Morris, N. M., & Udry, J. R. (1980). Validation of a self-administered instrument to assess stage of adolescent development. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 9, 271–280.
- Must, A., et al. (2002). Recall of early menstrual history and menarcheal body size: After 30 years, how well do women remember? American Journal of Epidemiology, 155, 672–679.
- Muthen, L. K., & Muthen, B. O. (1998-2006). MPlus user’s guide ( 3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Muthen & Muthen.
- NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (1997). The effects of infant child care on infant-mother attachment security: Results of the NICHD study of early child care. Child Development, 68, 860–879.
- NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (1999). Child care and mother-child interaction in the first three years of life. Developmental Psychology, 35, 1399–1413.
- NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2000). Factors associated with fathers’ caregiving activities and sensitivity with young children. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 200–219.
- NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2002). Early child care and children’s development prior to school entry: Results from the NICHD study of early child care. American Educational Research Journal, 39, 133–164.
- NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003). Early child care and mother- child interaction from 36 months through first grade. Infant Behavior and Development, 26, 345–370.
- NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2004). Father’s and Mother’s Parenting Behavior and Beliefs as Predictors of Child Social Adjustment in the Transition to School. Journal of Family Psychology, 18, 628–638.
- NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2006). Child Care Effect Sizes for the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. American Psychologist, 61, 99–116.
- Petersen, A. C., Crockett, L. J., 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.
- Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1989). Family interaction patterns and children’s behavior problems from infancy to 4 years. Developmental Psychology, 25, 413–420.
- Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (1997). Supportive parenting, ecological context, and children’s adjustment: A seven-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 68, 908–923.
- Pianta, R. C. (2001). The student-teacher relationship scale. Odessa, FL: PAR.
- Quinlan, R. (2003). Father absence, parental care, and female reproductive development. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 376–390.
- Romans, S. E., Martin, M., Gendall, K., & Herbison, G. P. (2003). Age of menarche: The role of some psychosocial factors. Psychological Medicine, 33, 933–939.
-
Rowe, D. C. (2000). Environmental and genetic influences on pubertal development: Evolutionary life history traits. In
J. L. Rodgers,
D. C. Rowe, & W. B. Miller (Eds.), Genetic influences on human fertility and sexuality: Theoretical and empirical contributions from the biological and behavioral sciences (pp. 147–168). Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
10.1007/978-1-4615-4467-8_10 Google Scholar
- Rowe, D. C. (2002). On genetic variation in menarche and age at first sexual intercourse. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 365–372.
- Seminara, S. B., et al. (2003). The GPR54 gene as a regulator of puberty. New England Journal of Medicine, 349, 1614–1627.
- Sisk, C. L., & Foster, D. L. (2004). The neural basis of puberty and adolescence. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 1040–1047.
- Slyper, A. The pubertal timing controversy in the USA, and a review of possible causative factors for the advance in timing of onset of puberty. Clinical Endocrinology, 65, 1–8.
- Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E. A., & Collins, W. A. (2005). The development of the person: The Minnesota study of risk and adaptation from birth to adulthood. New York: Guildford.
- Stattin, H., & Magnusson, D. (1990). Pubertal maturation in female development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Stavrou, I., Zois, C., Ioannidis, J. P., & Tsatsoulis, A. (2002). Association of polymorphisms of the oestrogen receptor alpha gene with the age of menarche. Human Reproduction, 17, 1101–1105.
- Steinberg, L. (1988). Reciprocal relation between parent-child distance and pubertal maturation. Developmental Psychology, 24, 1–7.
- Steinberg, L., et al. (2006). Psychopathology in adolescence: Integrating affective neuroscience with the study of context. In D. Cicchetti and D. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology, Vol. 2: Developmental neuroscience. (pp. 710–741). New York: Wiley.
- Sun, S. S., et al. (2002). National estimates of the timing of sexual maturation and racial differences among US children. Pediatrics, 110, 911–919.
- Suomi, S. (1995). Influence of attachment theory on ethological studies of biobehavioral development in nonhuman primates. In S. Goldberg, R. Muir, & J. Kerr (Eds.), Attachment theory: Social, developmental and clinical perspectives (pp. 185–202). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
- Suomi, S. (1997). Early determinants of behaviour: Evidence from primate studies. British Medical Bulletin, 53, 170–184.
- Surbey, M. K. (1990). Family composition, stress, and the timing of human menarche. In T. E. Ziegler & F. B. Bercovitch (Eds.), Socioendocrinology of primate reproduction. Monographs in primatology (Vol. 13, pp. 11–32). New York: Wiley-Liss.
- Surbey, M. K. (1998). Parent and offspring strategies in the transition at adolescence. Human Nature, 9, 67–94.
- Susman, E. J., Dorn, L. D., & Schiefelbein, V. (2003). Puberty, sexuality, and health. In R. M. Lerner, M. A. Easterbrooks, & J. Mistry (Eds.), The comprehensive handbook of psychology, (Vol. 6, Developmental Psychology, pp. 295–324). New York: Wiley.
- Susman, E. J., Nottelmann, E. D., Dorn, L. D., Gold, P. W., & Chrousos, G. P. (1989). The physiology of stress and behavioral development. In D. S. Palermo (Ed.), Coping with uncertainty: Behavioral and developmental perspectives (pp. 17–37). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
-
Susman, E. J., & Rogol, A. (2004). Puberty and psychological development. In
R. M. Lerner &
L. Steinberg (Eds.) The handbook of adolescent psychology, (pp. 15–44), New York: Wiley.
10.1002/9780471726746.ch2 Google Scholar
- Tanner, J. M. (1962). Growth at adolescence ( 2d ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.
- Treloar, S. A., & Martin, N. G. (1990). Age at menarche as a fitness trait: Nonadditive genetic variance detected in a large twin sample. American Journal of Human Genetics, 47, 137–148.
- Velderman, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, J. J., Juffer, F., & Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2006). Effects of attachment-based interventions on maternal sensitivity and infant attachment: Differential susceptibility of highly reactive infants. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 266–274.
- Wierson, M., Long, P. J., & Forehand, R. L. (1993). Toward a new understanding of early menarche: The role of environmental stress in pubertal timing. Adolescence, 28, 913–924.
- Wu, T., Mendola, P., & Buck, G. M. (2002). Ethnic differences in the presence of secondary sex characteristics and menarche among US girls: The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Pediatrics, 110, 752–757.
