Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2011 Nov;40(11):1407-22. doi: 10.1007/s10964-010-9619-1. Epub 2010 Dec 5.
Despite the widely reported link between early pubertal timing and internalizing symptoms among girls, less is known about the peer reputation of earlier maturing girls. The current study assesses whether early maturation is associated with perceived popularity and/or rumors, and whether these reputational factors help account for earlier maturing girls' vulnerability to emotional distress. Drawing on three waves of data collected from an ethnically diverse sample of middle school girls (n = 912), hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that more advanced development at the start of middle school predicted peer- and teacher-reported popularity as well as increased risk of being targeted for rumors. Mediation analyses suggested that popularity among boys can put earlier developing girls at risk for rumors. Finally, rumors acted as a partial mechanism through which early maturation was associated with subsequent internalizing symptoms. Knowledge of the peer mechanisms putting earlier developing girls at risk for psychosocial maladjustment can inform intervention and prevention efforts aimed at improving adolescent well-being.
尽管早期青春期发育与女孩的内化症状之间存在广泛报道的关联，但对于更早成熟的女孩的同伴声誉知之甚少。本研究评估了早期成熟是否与感知的受欢迎程度和/或谣言有关，以及这些声誉因素是否有助于解释更早成熟女孩易患情绪困扰的脆弱性。本研究利用从一个种族多样化的中学女孩样本（n=912）收集的三波数据，分层多元回归分析显示，中学开始时更先进的发育水平预测了同伴和教师报告的受欢迎程度，以及被谣言针对的风险增加。中介分析表明，男孩中的受欢迎程度可能使更早发育的女孩面临谣言的风险。最后，谣言是早期成熟与随后的内化症状相关的部分机制。了解使更早发育的女孩面临心理社会适应不良风险的同伴机制，可以为旨在改善青少年福祉的干预和预防工作提供信息。
