Genetic Influences on Pubertal Development and Links to Behavior Problems

Abstract

Genetic influences on adolescent psychological development are likely to be mediated and moderated by pubertal hormones. Combining genetic analyses with advanced models of pubertal development, we extended work on the measurement and psychological significance of puberty. We examined how genetic and environmental influences on puberty vary by the way that development is described (logistic versus linear models versus traditional methods) and the different aspects of puberty (adrenarche vs. gonadarche), and how genes and environment contribute to the covariation between different descriptions and aspects of puberty, and between pubertal development and behavior problems (substance use, age at sexual initiation). We also considered how puberty moderated the heritability of psychological outcomes (internalizing and externalizing problems), and sex differences. Participants from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study (403 girls, 395 boys) reported their pubertal development annually from ages 9 through 15; they and their parents reported their behavior in mid-to-late adolescence. There was a large genetic contribution to pubertal timing for both sexes no matter how it was measured, but findings for pubertal tempo varied by method. Genetic covariation accounted for most of the phenotypic correlations among different indicators of pubertal timing, and between pubertal timing and psychological outcome. We consider the implications of our results for understanding how pubertal hormones mediate or moderate genetic and environmental influences on psychological development.

Understanding Puberty and Its Measurement: Ideas for Research in a New Generation

“…For instance, puberty in girls typically begins with a growth spurt in height, followed by breast budding, axillary and pubic hair growth, and ends with menarche, but the initiation of these events and the extent to which they overlap with each other varies across individuals (Marshall & Tanner, ). Although research in pubertal synchrony has been limited, there has been some consideration of the correspondence between adrenal and gonadal indicators of development (Corley, Beltz, Wadsworth, & Berenbaum, ; Susman et al., ). Most notably, Thompson, Hammen, and Brennan () reported that asynchronous pubertal development in girls was associated more strongly with depression in late adolescence.…”

Puberty and structural brain development in humans

“…For example, there is some data to suggest that a faster tempo of pubertal maturation may be linked with poor psychological outcomes in high-risk girls (Mendle, Leve et al 2014). Moreover, recent twin-based genetic studies also highlight the importance of individual differences, as pubertal onset was found to be largely driven by genetic factors for both sexes, whereas non-shared environment had a larger impact on some models of progression or tempo (Corley, Beltz et al 2015). …”

Introduction to the Special Issue on Gene-Hormone Interplay

“…Marceau and colleagues (2015) use an adoption design to examine if genetic risk for psychopathology, as indexed by biological mothers’ substance use, externalizing, and internalizing problems, was linked with children’s morning cortisol levels. Additionally, Corley, Beltz, Wadsworth, and Berenbaum (2015) use a longitudinal twin design to examine if genetic risk for adolescent substance use is linked with genetic influences on pubertal development.…”