Emotion in early puberty: Sex differences in affect patterns across pubertal phases from a developmental neuropsychology perspective.

Abstract

A broad review of literature suggests that development occurs in several emotion-related areas of the brain during early puberty. These changes may alter the perception and significance of stimuli, increase responses to hormones, and affect emotional biases and executive processes related to emotional control. But are there changes in affective experience at puberty? If so, what are they? In this study, 53 girls (mean age 9.8 years) and 56 boys (mean age 11.5 years) were observed three times at six-month intervals. Seventy-seven subjects completed two waves and 71 subjects completed all three. Subjects completed pubertal status assessments and affect-related questionnaires at each wave. At each of the first two waves, subjects also rated their daily experience of 10 affects, energy, and distractibility three days a week for four weeks. Because developmental trajectories varied widely, data were compared across developmental phases defined as prepuberty, transitions into early or middle puberty, and stability in early or middle puberty. The results suggest strong associations between pubertal status and affect, with different affective patterns across the phases according to sex. Increased affective intensity and lability were associated with the early puberty transition in girls and the middle puberty transition in boys. Girls in middle puberty reported less negative and more positive affect than during the early puberty transition peak. Boys reported significantly more negative and less positive affect during middle puberty phases than during early puberty. Self-esteem was highest in the early puberty transition with a nadir in the middle puberty transition for both sexes; however, self-esteem rose for girls but remained low for boys in stable middle puberty. Results are interpreted with reference to the timing of biological changes relative to contextual changes such as school transitions; the timing and meaning of pubertal changes in the two sexes; hormonal change patterns; and developmental patterns in brain. Discussion includes suggestions for changes in schools in relation to these patterns.