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. 2016 Sep;4(5):867-881.
doi: 10.1177/2167702616643008. Epub 2016 Sep 25.

Pubertal Development, Emotion Regulatory Styles, and the Emergence of Sex Differences in Internalizing Disorders and Symptoms in Adolescence

Lauren B Alloy  1 , Jessica L Hamilton  1 , Elissa J Hamlat  1 , Lyn Y Abramson  2
Affiliations

Pubertal Development, Emotion Regulatory Styles, and the Emergence of Sex Differences in Internalizing Disorders and Symptoms in Adolescence

Lauren B Alloy et al. Clin Psychol Sci. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Adolescence marks the emergence of sex differences in internalizing symptoms and disorders, with girls at increased risk for depression and anxiety during the pubertal transition. However, the mechanisms through which puberty confers risk for internalizing psychopathology for girls, but not boys, remain unclear. We examined two pubertal indicators (pubertal status and timing) as predictors of the development of emotion regulation styles (rumination and emotional clarity) and depressive and anxiety symptoms and disorders in a three-wave study of 314 adolescents. Path analyses indicated that early pubertal timing, but not pubertal status, predicted increased rumination, but not decreased emotional clarity, in adolescent girls, but not boys. Additionally, rumination mediated the association between early pubertal timing and increased depressive, but not anxiety, symptoms and disorder onset among adolescent girls. These findings suggest that the sex difference in depression may result partly from early maturing girls' greater tendency to develop ruminative styles than boys.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; emotional clarity; puberty; rumination.

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Figures

Figure 1a
Figure 1a
Pubertal Timing Predicting Emotion Regulatory Styles and Internalizing Symptoms
Figure 1b
Figure 1b
Pubertal Timing Predicting Emotion Regulatory Styles and Internalizing Disorders Note. Standardized coefficients are presented in the figures. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. Primary paths of the model are represented by solid lines; dotted lines are non-primary paths. PT = Pubertal Timing. Age, race, SES, and Time 1 depression and anxiety symptoms and disorders, rumination, and emotional clarity were also covaried, but were not included in the figure for ease of interpretation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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