Comparing Associations Between Puberty, Ethnic–Racial Identity, Self‐Concept, and Depressive Symptoms Among African American and Caribbean Black Boys

Abstract

Research on pubertal development among Black boys is limited. Addressing this gap, we examined associations between three pubertal domains (e.g., voice change, hair growth, and perceived relative timing), depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, among a nationally representative sample of 395 African American and 164 Caribbean Black boys (M age = 15 years). Moderation by ethnic-racial identity (e.g., racial centrality, racial regard) was also explored. Results indicated that for both ethnic subgroups early voice change increased self-esteem; whereas early voice change increased depressive symptoms among boys who felt society views Blacks more negatively. Buffering effects of ethnic-racial identity also varied significantly between the two groups. Findings suggest that the meaning Black boys ascribe to their ethnic-racial group may explain puberty-linked outcomes.

Adolescent Acne and Disparities in Mental Health

“…Efforts to understand youth’s experiences and perceptions of pubertal maturation require consideration of each pubertal facet individually, particularly given differential meanings ascribed to these changes based on gender, age, skin color, and culture. For example, regarding voice changes, early deepening of the voice is positively related to self‐esteem in African American boys, but not in Caribbean Black boys (Carter, Seaton, & Blazek, 2020). The psychological experience of acne may also vary based on gender, skin color, age, or cultural group membership.…”

Puberty, depressive symptoms, and neighborhood context among African American and Caribbean Black males.

“…It is important to note that the same pattern of findings emerged for both early developing African American and Caribbean Black boys who lived in neighborhoods with fewer Black residents. Given that there is so little research on pubertal timing effects among Black boys (see Deardorff et al, 2019) and virtually none regarding ethnic subgroup differences (Carter et al, 2020), we can only speculate as This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

“…Immigrant-origin Black youth have to simultaneously navigate White culture, African American culture, and their heritage culture (Agi & Rivas-Drake, 2021). A recent study conducted among nationally representative samples of African American and Caribbean Black boys illustrated that the relation between early pubertal timing and depressive symptoms was significant among Caribbean Black boys but not among African American boys (Carter et al, 2020). Thus, early pubertal timing conveyed risks for negative mental health outcomes among Caribbean Black boys, which is an important distinction not evident in prior research.…”

“…Second, there is a need to examine multiple indicators of pubertal development, given that prior research among Black boys combined multiple indicators, such as height changes, skin changes, and hair growth to assess pubertal timing among Black boys (see Ge et al, 2002Ge et al, , 2003Ge et al, , 2006Hamlat et al, 2014). Carter et al (2020) argued that the impact of pubertal development depends on specific indicators, given the public and private nature of specific indicators. For example, voice changes are public and likely to be noticed by others, whereas pubic hair growth is private and likely to be salient only to the developing boy (Carter et al, 2020).…”

“…There is also a lack of empirical research examining the impact of race- or ethnic-related variables that shape the social experiences of early-maturing boys (Ge & Natsuaki, 2009). Although early pubertal development may place Black American boys at increased risk of harm (see Goff et al, 2014; Schultz, 2015), recent empirical research indicated that pubertal development is nuanced and complex when disentangling race and ethnicity among Black American boys (see Blazek & Carter, 2019; Carter, Leath, et al, 2017; Carter, Seaton, et al, 2017; Carter et al, 2020; Seaton & Carter, 2020). The present study examined the ethnic–racial composition of neighborhoods as a moderator in the relation between pubertal timing and depressive symptoms among a nationally representative sample of African American and Caribbean Black boys.…”