Early and Off-time Pubertal Maturation and Adolescent Delinquency

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

Previous research suggests that the timing of puberty, that is, whether youth mature earlier or later than their peers, has implications for adolescent engagement in delinquent activities (Dimler & Natsuaki, 2015). However, prior research has not yielded consistent findings regarding the direction of the relationship between pubertal timing and delinquency. While most studies identified early maturation as a unique risk factor in both males and females (Bucci & Staff, 2020), a few studies suggest that late maturation predicts more delinquency in boys (Williams & Dunlop, 1999). Moreover, little is known about whether links of pubertal timing and delinquency persist or dissipate throughout adolescence. Thus, this study examined the effects of early and off-time maturation on youth delinquency in early and late adolescence, together with sex differences in these effects.
This study uses data from Waves 2 and 3 of the Birmingham Youth Violence study (N=603 at Wave 2 and 502 at Wave 3; mean ages 13.2 and 18.1 years; 52.4% male, 77.8% African American, 20% Caucasian). At Wave 2, adolescents self-reported their pubertal status using Tanner stage scores (Marshall & Tanner, 1970). These scores were regressed on age, sex, and race and the resulting residuals were used as indicators of pubertal timing (Summer et al., 2019). At both Waves, adolescents reported on their engagement in delinquent activities over the past 12 months using items from the Self-Report of Delinquency (Elliott, Huizinga, & Ageton, 1985). Two hierarchical linear regression models examined concurrent and longitudinal links between linear and quadratic terms of pubertal timing at Wave 2 and delinquency at Waves 2 and 3, adjusting for age, sex, and race, and parental income. The longitudinal model also controlled for Wave 2 delinquency. Interactions of the linear and quadratic pubertal timing terms with sex tested whether links between pubertal timing and delinquency differed for males and females.
Results from the cross-sectional model revealed significant positive relationships between early maturation and delinquency (beta=.09, p=.023) as well as off-time maturation and delinquency (beta=.10, p=.016). Sex moderated the quadratic effect of off-time maturation (beta=-.192, p=.003), but not the linear effect (beta=.01, p=.888). Specifically, off-time maturation predicted delinquency in males (beta=.21, p<.001), but not in females (beta=-.03, p=.581). Results from the longitudinal model indicated that neither early maturation (beta=.04, p=.410) nor off-time maturation (beta=-.035, p=.445) predicted change in delinquency from Wave 2 to Wave 3. However, the effect of early maturation varied by sex (beta=-.13, p=.047). Simple slope analyses indicated that early pubertal timing was marginally associated with Wave 3 delinquency for males (beta=.13, p=.062), but it was not related to Wave 3 delinquency for females (beta=-.06, p=.365).
Findings suggest that early pubertal maturation puts youth of both sexes at increased risk of delinquent behavior in early adolescence, but late maturation is associated with delinquency in males only. Furthermore, results suggest that effects of pubertal timing on delinquency attenuated throughout adolescence. Future research should further examine concurrent and long-term effects of early and off-time maturation on developmental outcomes.

Authors

• Marlon Goering, University of Alabama at Birmingham
  Presenting Author

• Sylvie Mrug, University of Alabama at Birmingham
  Non-Presenting Author