This webpage is for educational purposes with regard to this website being part of a graduate project. Not all of these articles are available to the public.
In order to create this website, I drew from existing literature on the subjects of puberty and early puberty. These sources showed that plenty is already known on the subject. The prevalence of early puberty is much higher in kids who are stressed out or have experienced chronic trauma, and it is caused by puberty hormones being released earlier than expected. It's also higher in kids of color and lower socio-economic status. Again, this can be due to your genetics, environment, or a mix of the two. It's also known that early puberty can lead to higher rates of depression and low self-esteem in adolescents with female anatomy, but that this can be mitigated when the adolescent is given the right supports. However, there is still a lot to learn, especially with regard to how social factors can play such a large role in biological change. There's also more to learn about puberty blockers and knowing when that's the right choice for an adolescent (this is a topic not yet present on the website due to the lack of empirical research).
Works Cited:
Compian, L.J., Gowen, L.K., & Hayward, C. (2009). The interactive effects of puberty and peer victimization on weight
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concerns and depression symptoms among early adolescent girls. Journal of Early Adolescence, 29 (3), 357-375.
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Kelly, Y., Zilanawala, A., Sacker, A., Hiatt, R., & Viner, R. (2018). Early puberty in 11-year-old girls: Millennium cohort study
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findings. Arch Dis Child, 102, 232-237.
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Mrug, S., Elliott, M.N., Davies, S., Tortolero, S.R., Cuccaro, P., & Schuster, M.A. (2014). Early puberty, negative peer influence,
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and problem behaviors in adolescent girls. Pediatrics, 133 (1), 7-14.
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Pinto, K. (2007). Growing up young: The relationship between childhood stress and coping with early puberty. Journal of
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Early Adolescence, 27 (4), 509-544.
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Roberts, C. (2013). Early puberty, 'sexualization' and feminism. European Journal of Women's Studies, 20 (2), 138-154.
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Steinburg, L. (2014). Age of opportunity: Lessons from the new science of adolescence. New York: Mariner Books.
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Walvoord, E.C. (2010). The timing of puberty: Is it changing? Does it matter? Journal of Adolescent Health, 47, 433-439.
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