Relationship Between Pubertal Timing,stressful Life Events And Internalizing Problem Of Adolescent Girls

Objective: To investigate relationship between pubertal timing and internalizing problems of adolescent girls, and to explore the moderating effect of stressful life events in this relationship.Methods: 994 adolescent girls at 3 junior high school school in Hunan province were assessed using the Pubertal Development Scale, Child Behavior Checklist-the Youth Self-Report and Adolescent Stressful Life Events Scale. Case interviews were implemented based on quantitative study.Results: ①Pubertal timing were positively correlated to internalizing problems and its 3 dimensions. Internalizing problem was positively correlated to stressful life events. Pubertal timing was not correlated to stressful life events. ②There was a significant difference of internalizing problems and its depression/anxiety dimension and withdraw dimension on 3 group of pubertal timing. Girls of early pubertal timing had more depression/anxiety problems and withdraw problems than later maturing girls and other ordinary girls. There was no significant difference of internalizing problems on later developers and ordinary girls. There was no significant difference of stressful life events on these 3 group of girls. ③Pubertal timing, stressful life events and they’re interaction item have direct effect on internalizing problems, which means that stressful life events had moderating effect on the relationship between pubertal timing and internalizing problems.Conclusion: ①Pubertal timing has a marked impact on girls’ internalizing problems. Early maturers have more internalizing problems than other girls.②Stressful life events have a marked impact on girls’ internalizing problems. The more stressful life events, the higher level of internalizing problems.③Stressful life events had moderating effect on the relationship between pubertal timing and internalizing problems. Stressful life events could be more detrimental to early maturers than late developers.