Psychiatric risk associated with early puberty in adolescent girls.

OBJECTIVE: This study prospectively evaluated the relationship between early puberty and the onset of internalizing symptoms and disorders in adolescent girls. METHOD: The sample was drawn from 1,463 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade girls who participated in a longitudinal school-based study of growth and development. Pubertal stage was determined by self-assessment of Tanner stage. Psychiatric assessments included self-report instruments and structured diagnostic interviews. Survival methods were utilized for data analysis. RESULTS: Girls with onset of internalizing symptoms were on average 5 months earlier in pubertal development than those who were asymptomatic (p < .001). In addition, girls with earlier maturation (earliest quartile) were more likely to develop internalizing symptoms than were nonearly matures (hazard ratio = 1.8, confidence interval = 1.2, 2.7). In a subsample of girls followed into high school, early-maturing girls were at marginally higher risk (p < .10) for developing internalizing disorders by the study's end. The highest risk for internalizing disorders was for those girls with both early puberty and prior internalizing symptoms (odds ratio = 3.3). CONCLUSION: Early puberty increases the risk of internalizing symptoms and perhaps internalizing disorders in adolescent girls.

Do adolescent smokers experience withdrawal effects when deprived of nicotine?

This is the first controlled prospective study of the effects of nicotine deprivation in adolescent smokers. Heart rate and subjective withdrawal symptoms were measured over an 8-hr period while participants smoked normally. Seven days later, participants were randomized to wear a 15-mg (16-hr) nicotine patch or a placebo patch for 8 hr, and they refrained from smoking during the session. Those wearing the placebo experienced a decrease in heart rate across sessions and an increase in subjective measures of nicotine withdrawal. Those wearing the active patch also reported significant increases for some subjective symptoms. Expectancy effects were also observed. The findings indicate that adolescent smokers experience subjective and objective changes when deprived of nicotine. As in previous research with adults, expectancies concerning the effects of nicotine replacement also influenced perceptions of withdrawal.

Factors associated with eating disorder symptoms in a community sample of 6th and 7th grade girls.

Nine hundred thirty-nine 6th and 7th grade girls participated in the baseline phase of a prospective study designed to examine a set of potential risk factors for the development of eating disorders. Of the 939,839 girls (89%) completed the bulimia nervosa section of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R disorders. One girl received the diagnosis of bulimia nervosa, another 35 were classified as a symptomatic group. Using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for age and stage of sexual maturation, symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were compared on the following measures: Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI), BMI, triceps skinfold thickness, waist-to-hip ratio, depression symptoms (CES-D and DSRS), Restraint Scale, and a measure of family adaptability and cohesion (FACES). Symptomatic girls were more developmentally mature, significantly heavier, reported greater fear of weight gain, experienced greater dysphoria, indicated increased body dissatisfaction, and reported greater feelings of inadequacy and personal worthlessness. Their status on these dimensions may indicate potential vulnerability to eating disorders and, ultimately, suggest the choice of targets for intervention. Our future goal is to conduct the prospective analyses needed to confirm the hypothesized linkages.