Emerging Approaches to Research on Pubertal Timing

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

In the years since Belsky, Steinberg, and Draper (1991) proposed the “uncanny hypothesis”—that early life experiences could alter the timing of pubertal development—numerous studies have demonstrated robust relationships between pubertal acceleration and child abuse, father absence, exposure to violence, and poverty, especially among girls. Others have shown how pubertal acceleration forecasts poorer mental and physical health later in life. The goal of this symposium is to look forward at the future of pubertal timing research as we enter the fourth decade of investigations testing the “uncanny hypothesis”. We explore how emerging technologies have allowed researchers to investigate just how these experiences get “under the skin”, shaping development at the molecular level. These observations have led to the intriguing proposition that pubertal acceleration is part of a larger set of processes involved in biological aging. Broadly speaking, biological aging refers to molecular, cellular, and chromosomal deterioration that leads to progressive declines in system integrity over time. We also highlight a need to broaden knowledge about pubertal timing in marginalized groups and by reaching beyond W.E.I.R.D populations. Although the majority of research in this area has been conducted in Western countries, the overwhelming majority of adolescents live in low-and-middle income countries and often face more concentrated adversity than children living in high-income countries. Taking all of this together, we discuss opportunities to set a research agenda for the next forty years of pubertal timing research.

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Chair

• Candace Jasmine Black, Queen Mary University of London

Discussant

• Bruce J Ellis, University of Utah

Individual Presentations

• Early Life Adversity Predicts an Accelerated Cellular Aging Index Through Early Timing of Puberty - Presenting Author: Elissa June Hamlat, University of California - San Francisco; Torsten B. Neilands, University of California, San Francisco; Barbara Laraia, University of California, Berkeley; Joshua Zhang, University of California, Los Angeles; Ake T. Lu, University of California, Los Angeles; Jue Lin, University of California, San Francisco; Steve Horvath, University of California, Los Angeles; Elissa Epel, University of California, San Francisco

• Investigating Biological Aging and Pubertal Development in Two High-Risk Pediatric Cohorts - Presenting Author: Waylon J. Hastings, Tulane University; Nathan A Fox, University of Maryland - College Park; Christine Heim, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin; Charles A. Nelson, Harvard Medical School; Jennie G. Noll, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Hannah M. C. Schreier, Pennsylvania State University; Chad Shenk, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Charles H Zeanah, Tulane University; Stacy Drury; Idan Shalev

• Broadening horizons: Shedding light on pubertal timing and mental health in war-affected refugee children. - Presenting Author: Candace Jasmine Black, Queen Mary University of London; Fiona S McEwen, Queen Mary University of London; Demelza Smeeth, Queen Mary University of London; Cassandra Popham, Queen Mary University of London; Elie Karam, Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care; Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University of London