Poster #55 - Is Age Just a Number? Exploring the Association Among Relative Age, Pubertal Timing, and Depression.

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Previous research on adolescent development has identified early pubertal timing, or physical maturation at younger ages than same-sex peers, as a risk factor for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. However, this definition relies on chronological age alone, which ignores individual differences in relative age, or the age of a student in relation to same-grade peers, which is introduced due to school cutoff dates.

In the past, the study of relative age has been largely confined to cognitive and athletic psychology, despite its potential role in shaping adolescents’ social environments. Specifically, early pubertal timing may be less noticeable when an adolescent is younger than same-grade peers and thus its impact may be diminished. In contrast, the negative consequences of early pubertal timing may be amplified for adolescents who are older than same-grade peers, even if physical maturation occurs at the same chronological age.

This study explored how pubertal timing and relative age impact perceived pubertal timing and how these three factors influence depressive symptoms. These questions were assessed in a sample of 352 youth who attended 4-H sleepaway camps or who completed surveys during or after school between 2014 and 2018 (85.51% female; mean age=11.70). Pubertal Timing was defined as the difference (residual) between physical maturation, measured using the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS), and what was expected based on age. Perceived Pubertal Development was based on youths’ perceptions of how early or late they developed compared with same-sex peers. Relative Age was defined as the difference between each participant’s birthday and the cutoff date for their school district. The National Center for Education Statistics Database was used to determine each participant’s school district based on their home zip code. School cutoff dates were identified based on information provided by each district. All analyses were conducted separately by gender.

For both male and female youth, pubertal timing (bmale=0.123, p=0.004; bfemale=-0.193, p<0.001) and relative age (bmale=0.424, p=0.004; bfemale=-0.252, p=0.017) were significant predictors of perceived pubertal timing, but in opposing directions. However, their interaction was not a significant predictor of this outcome (bmale=0.121, p=0.063; bfemale=0.046, p=0.326).

None of the expected variables nor their interactions predicted depressive symptoms among male youth. In contrast, among female adolescents, early pubertal timing and older relative age predicted heightened depressive symptoms (btiming=0.104, p=0.017; brelative=0.632, p=0.002). There was also a significant interaction between pubertal timing and perceived pubertal timing (binteraction=-0.080, p=0.036), indicating that earlier pubertal timing has less of an impact on depressive symptoms among girls who perceive themselves to be developing later than their peers. Perceived pubertal timing did not predict depressive symptoms, nor did any of the other proposed interactions among variables.

Results indicate that relative age is an important predictor of youth perceptions of their development as well as of depressive symptoms, though this effect differs between male and female adolescents. Further, the association among pubertal timing, perceived pubertal timing, and depressive symptoms differs across gender. Future research should continue to explore how relative age relates to other aspects of adolescent development and influences relevant outcomes.

Authors

• Emily Rosenthal, Cornell University
  Presenting Author

• Mary Kate Koch, Cornell University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jane Mendle, Cornell University
  Non-Presenting Author