Reward sensitivity and internalizing symptoms during the transition to puberty: An examination of 9-and 10-year-olds in the ABCD Study

Sex and age variations in the impact of puberty on cortical thickness and associations with internalizing symptoms and suicidal ideation in early adolescence

“…Pubertal stage, comparable to Tanner staging (ranging from Tanner I to Tanner V; Emmanuel and Bokor, 2022 ), was calculated based on parent-reported PDS scores given that parent reports may be more valid at these early ages ( Cheng et al, 2021 ; Herting et al, 2021; Schlossberger et al, 1992) and that there is a large amount of missing data from self-report at Baseline and Y2 ( Cheng et al, 2021 ). This approach is consistent with other studies using ABCD puberty data (e.g., Demidenko et al, 2021; McNeilly et al, 2022 ; Thijssen et al, 2020; 2022).…”

“…Pubertal sex hormones, alongside genetic and environmental influences, are thought to modulate trajectories of brain development to produce sex-specific vulnerabilities for psychopathology ( López-Ojeda and Hurley, 2021 ). For example, sex moderates the association between puberty and internalizing symptoms in 9–10-year-old children, predicting greater symptom severity for females as compared to males ( McNeilly et al, 2022 ). Adolescence may be a particularly important time for investigating mechanisms driving sex differences in the development of internalizing symptoms, as youth are undergoing neurodevelopment in key emotional regulation regions ( Spear, 2009 ), including the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), and striatum.…”

“…As such, Ho and colleagues (2021) theorize that it is not the pubertal processes that produce vulnerability for psychopathology (specifically referring to suicidality), but rather individual differences in neurobiological sensitivity to hormonal changes associated with puberty. In addition, the timing of pubertal processes and their impacts on neurodevelopment are critical to consider, as earlier pubertal onset is associated with heightened risk for psychopathology ( Barendse et al, 2021 , Ullsperger and Nikolas, 2017 ), including anxiety, depression, and withdrawn behaviors ( McNeilly et al, 2022 ).…”

The role of brain structure in the association between pubertal timing and depression risk in an early adolescent sample (the ABCD Study®): A registered report

“…Our results are broadly consistent with the maturation disparity hypothesis which posits that both early maturing males and females are at an increased risk for mental health difficulties during adolescence, due to an incongruency in their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development (Brooks-Gunn et al, 1985;Ge et al, 2001;Ge and Natsuaki, 2009). Our findings are similar to earlier meta-analytic work (Ullsperger and Nikolas, 2017) and recent findings from the ABCD Study (McNeilly et al, 2022) in that we also found a significant small effect size for the association between earlier pubertal timing and internalising difficulties. However, we additionally report a greater magnitude of effect for early maturing females compared to males, suggesting that female youth that hit puberty ahead of their peers are particularly at risk for mood difficulties.…”

Puberty differentially predicts brain maturation in male and female youth: A longitudinal ABCD Study

“…For example, in females, earlier pubertal onset is associated with an increased risk of type II diabetes, breast cancer, and adult obesity (Ahmed et al, 2009), in addition to mental outcomes related to risk-taking (Braams et al, 2015;Collado-Rodriguez et al, 2014), depression and anxiety (Copeland et al, 2019;McNeilly et al, 2022;Mendle et al, 2010;Mendle & Ferrero, 2012), and substance use (Marceau et al, 2019;Patton et al, 2004;Stumper et al, 2019). In males, health risks are better understood by the 'off-time' hypothesis (either very early or very late pubertal onset), with worse mental health outcomes (Hayward, 2003), such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and risk-.…”