Aggressive behavior is more likely to be shown by adolescent girls who go through puberty when their parents do not nuture them, communicate with them, or have knowledge of their activities, according to an article released on August 4, 2008 in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Problems with conduct, delinquency, and substance use are already associated with early puberty in young women, and these problems often continue throughout adolescence and well into young adulthood. The authors write: “It is thus important to identify protective factors that may mitigate negative effects of early maturation on girls’ adjustment.” One such factor is the relationship a girl has with her parents.

To investigate the relationship between this early puberty and their relationships with their parents, Sylvie Mrug, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues investigated 330 girls in the fifth-grade, with an average age of 11 years, with their parents in three metropolitan areas. Some issues addressed about the girls’ behavior included: how often they engaged in aggressive behavior, including hitting, teasing, and spreading rumors to hurt others; any displays of delinquency, including fights at school, being injured in fights, and inflicting injuries in fights. Additional issues were reported regarding the relationships of the girls with their mothers, such as: how often the mother was affectionate; how often they did things together; whether there had been dialogue with the parents about violence, tobacco, and sex. This was combined with information about whether and when they had each started menstruating. Parents contributed information to measure the extent to which they knew their child’s friends and how she spent her free time.

Early maturation, defined as a first menstrual period one year or more before the average age for females of the same racial and ethnic group, occurred in one quarter of the subjects. Those women were more likely to be delinquent but not more likely to be aggressive. However, aggressive behavior was more likely in these girls who matured early if they also had low levels of parental nurture, communication, and education. The authors say: “Also, early maturation only predicted physical aggression when combined with low maternal nurturance.”

There are some theories for these different outcomes for girls. For instance, girls who mature early may be more likely to be accepted by and form relationships with older boys, who might encourage aggression or delinquency more than younger children. The parents may be able to help, say the authors: “Parental nurturance may decrease girls’ susceptibility to negative peer influence.” They continue: “Also, parental nurturance may help girls cope with challenges associated with early puberty. By listening to their daughters’ difficulties and providing support and encouragement, nurturing parents can help them develop better coping skills and diffuse negative emotions that might otherwise manifest as aggression.”

Communication with the parents could protect girls by providing them with deeper knowledge, as well. “By discussing difficult peer situations (e.g., provocation, peer pressure) and ways of dealing with them, parents may help their daughters develop a repertoire of adaptive responses that will minimize the need for inappropriate (i.e., aggressive) behavior,” say the authors. “In addition, knowing how their daughters spend free time may help parents identify and prevent negative peer and other influences.”

Clinicians might do well to target communication to the parents and girls who have early maturation. The authors conclude: “”Helping parents develop positive parenting skills may help early-maturing girls to grow into healthy, well-adjusted adolescents and adults.”

Positive Parenting and Early Puberty in Girls: Protective Effects Against Aggressive Behavior
Sylvie Mrug, PhD; Marc Elliott, PhD; M. Janice Gilliland, PhD; Jo Anne Grunbaum, PhD; Susan R. Tortolero, PhD; Paula Cuccaro, PhD; Mark Schuster, MD, PhD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(8):781-786.
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Written by Anna Sophia McKenney