Association of sexual development characteristics and phases with the cognitive and behavioral development of adolescents aged 10 to 14 in rural areas of Shaanxi Province / 中国儿童保健杂志

ABSTRACT

【Objective】 To analyze the association of sexual development characteristics and phases with the cognitive and behavioral development of adolescents aged 10 to 14 in rural areas of Shaanxi Province, in order to provide scientific reference for enhancing adolescent health. 【Methods】 The study population was selected from a birth cohort study′s follow-up data for the adolescent phase. The Tanner quintile method was used to assess sexual development, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-Ⅳ) was used to assess cognitive development, and the Youth Self-Rating Scale(YSR-2001) was used to assess behavioral development. Generalized linear models was used to examine the association of the stages of adolescent sexual development with their cognitive and behavioral development. 【Results】 A total of 1 887 adolescents were enrolled in this study, with 1 111 (58.9%) boys. The proportion of boys and girls who have started sexual development was 78.22% and 89.30%, respectively. The detection rate of behavioral problems in adolescents was 9.70%, with 11.80% in boys and 6.70% in girls, and the gender difference was significant (χ2=13.517, P<0.001). Compared to adolescents in Tanner stage Ⅰ, adolescents in stage Ⅲ had a higher total cognitive score of 2.19 (95%CI: 0.15 - 4.23), and a higher total score of 3.84 (95%CI: 0.85 - 6.83,P<0.05) in stages Ⅳ-Ⅴ. The detection rate of total behavioral problems of children in Tanner stages Ⅳ-Ⅴ was 2.63 times (95%CI:1.27 - 5.46,P<0.05) higher than that in stage Ⅰ. In boys, the rate of detection of internalizing problems was 3.96 times(95%CI:1.60 - 9.81,P<0.01) higher than that in stage Ⅰ, and the detection rate of internalizing problems was 2.88 times(95%CI:1.19 - 7.01,P<0.05) higher than that in stage Ⅰ. 【Conclusions】 There is a significant correlation of sexual developmental phrase with cognitive and behavioral development among adolescents aged 10 - 14 years in rural Shaanxi Province. The detection rate of adolescent behavioral problems increases with the increase of sexual development level and cognitive level, and there are significant gender differences.