Principal Investigator:

Charlotte Castro- Markey, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Rutgers-University - Camden

A decline in girls' psychological and behavioral health during the transition to adolescence has been well documented. Pubertal development has often been conceptualized as a "trigger" initiating this gradual, and often consequential, deterioration in young girls' health. However, little research has examined the influence of individual differences (i.e., personality traits) on girls' health during this important developmental period. It has been suggested that youths' personalities may play an increasingly important role in determining their health outcomes during the adolescent years; individual differences that exist prior to the onset of puberty may make some girls' susceptible to negative health outcomes during puberty as the stress associated with the transition to adolescence makes individual differences more pronounced (Caspi & Moffitt, 1991). While this developmental shift, with personality becoming more influential, is consistent with previous theorizing about deindividuation and identity development during adolescence, few studies have longitudinally examined the relative explanatory power of girls' pubertal development and their personalities during the adolescent years.

The present study examined personality and pubertal development as predictors of 67 preadolescent girls' psychological and behavioral health. Pubertal development was assessed using the Pubertal Development Scale and pediatrician reports of Tanner Ratings. Personality was assessed using maternal reports of the Five-Factor Model of personality. The health outcomes assessed included girls' depression and participation in risky behaviors. All predictors and outcomes were measured when girls were in 5th and 6th grade (mean age = 10.72 and 11.74 years, respectively), allowing for longitudinal analyses across one year.

Results indicated that both pubertal development and personality traits predicted girls' susceptibility to psychological and behavioral health problems. Further, findings suggest a developmental trend with pubertal development being more consequential for girls health at the onset of puberty, and personality being more important later as girls equilibrate to puberty. In other words, maternal reports of the FFM explained more variance in girls' health outcomes when they were in 6th grade than when girls were in 5th grade. In contrast, girls' pubertal development explained less variance in girls' health outcomes in 6th grade than it explained in 5th grade. It appears that two distinct developmental trends may be occurring with girls' personality traits becoming more important predictors of their psychological and behavioral health as they progress through adolescence.

These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and applied implications. Theoretically, the increasingly important role of personality in determining girls' health during adolescence may have been overlooked in past models examining predictors of girls' health. These findings also have the potential to enhance intervention efforts aimed at improving the health of young girls by providing insight into girls who may be most at risk for negative psychological and behavioral health outcomes.

Reference
Caspi, A. & Moffit, T. E. (1991). Individual differences are accentuated during periods of social change: The sample case of girls at puberty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 157-168.