Exploring profiles of hormone exposure: Associations with cognition in a population-based cohort of early adolescents (Stage 1 Registered Report)

Abstract

Stage 1 Registered Report. During adolescence, increases in pubertal hormones lead to reproductive maturity and drive changes in cognitive development. However, little is known about how to best characterize interindividual differences in hormone concentrations. The goal of the proposed study is to examine the antecedents and consequences of membership in empirically derived hormone subgroups. Data will be drawn from over 11,000 youth (approximately 50% male, ages = 9 -11 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study.Latent profile analysis stratified by sex will be used to derive profiles of hormone exposure based on basal testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and estradiol (girls only). Profile membership will then be related to pubertal status, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and body mass index (BMI). Additionally, profile membership will be examined as a prospective predictor of adolescents’ cognition (i.e., inhibitory control, visuospatial processing, decision-making) assessed two years later. Findings will clarify disparate associations between hormones and behavior in adolescence and underscore the importance for youth-centered approaches that focus on patterns of individual characteristics.