Mack-Williams,
Yakini (6/08) The relationship between precocious puberty, resiliency, and
psychological maladjustment in pre-adolescent girls (Paul Ramirez, Ph.D.; David
Castro-Blanco, Ph.D.; Joan Duncan, Ph.D.)
Common themes in the literature on
pubertal development include examination of body image and eating disorders.
Much of the research on puberty has focused on on-time development, with less
attention paid to the psychosocial effects of precocious puberty. Existing
precocious puberty research points to premature physical changes initiating
negative effects in girls. However, these studies have failed to examine
factors that explain why some adolescent girls are not negatively impacted by
the experience of early development. The present study examined the
implications of precocious puberty and the characterological differences
amongst adolescent girls that contributed to varying consequences of early
puberty. Resiliency was identified as a possible key factor that played a role
in how the experience of precocious development was processed by adolescent
girls. Efforts were made to extend the literature by examining experiences with
precocious development and its effects on self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and
body image. A battery of questionnaires was administered to a sample of 100
girls ranging in age from nine to eleven. The questionnaires assessed
precocious puberty and the concept of resiliency, in relation to adjustment
reactions to pubertal development. The study found that girls with high
resiliency experienced less psychological maladjustment than girls with low
resiliency. Findings from this study confirmed that identification of
resiliency variables can be useful in the prediction of adjustment reactions
during puberty. Practical implications and directions for future research were
discussed.
