Understanding the Link Between Pubertal Timing in Girls and the Development of Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Sexual Harassment

Abstract

The link between sexual maturation, or pubertal timing, in girls and adolescent depressive symptoms is well-documented, but the underlying processes remain unclear. We examined whether sexual harassment, which has previously been linked to both pubertal timing and depressive symptoms, mediates this link, using a two-wave longitudinal study including 454 girls in 7th (M age = 13.42, SD = .53) and 8th grade (M age = 14.42, SD = .55). Pubertal timing was linked to depressive symptoms in both age groups, and predicted an increase in depressive symptoms among the 7th graders. Sexual harassment significantly mediated the link between pubertal timing and depressive symptoms among the 7th, but not the 8th grade girls. Together, our findings suggest that one way to prevent depressive symptoms among early-maturing girls could be to address sexual harassment in preventive intervention in early adolescence.

The effects of non-physical peer sexual harassment on high school students’ psychological well-being in Norway: consistent and stable findings across studies

“…Similar negative effects of harassment on self-esteem and body image were found for sexual minorities and immigrants in Study 2. The possible adverse effects of being subject to nonphysical peer sexual harassment are highly comparable to findings from prior studies of adolescents that have applied broader measures of sexual harassment that also cover physical forms (e.g., Chiodo et al 2009;Dahlqvist et al 2016;Landstedt and Gillander Gådin 2011;Skoog et al 2015). The strong effect of non-physical peer sexual harassment on the psychological well-being is particularly noteworthy.…”

“…Our two cross-sectional studies complement longitudinal work suggesting that peer sexual harassment is common and that there is substantial negative effects of being sexually harassed on adolescents' well-being (Chiodo et al 2009;Dahlqvist et al 2016;Marshall et al 2013;Skoog et al 2015). Still, we need more longitudinal studies to…”

“…Despite some uncertainty regarding directionality of effects prior longitudinal research evidence suggests that being sexually harassed by peers increases the probability of subsequent psychological adjustment problems and more symptoms of depression as shown by Skoog et al (2015) and Chiodo et al (2009). By providing a number of additional stressors as controls, this study underscores this, as the adverse effects of non-physical peer sexual harassment are strong and present over and above the effect of other stressors.…”

“…Sexual harassment may also take the form of physical coercion such as being brushed against or held in a sexual way, having private parts touched or being coerced into kissing or other forms of sexual behavior. Peer sexual harassment covering any of the above forms is commonly reported among secondary and high school men and women with prevalence rates ranging from 40 to 85% (American Association of University Women 2001; Bendixen and Kennair 2014;Chiodo et al 2009;Felix and McMahon 2006;Landstedt and Gillander Gådin 2011;Lichty and Campbell 2012;Ormerod et al 2008;Paludi 1997;Skoog et al 2015) and possibly more common in samples of sexual minorities (Mitchell et al 2014). Being subject to physical form of sexual harassment (coercion) is less prevalent, particularly among boys/men (Chiodo et al 2009;Kennair and Bendixen 2012).…”

“…Evidently, being subject to peer sexual harassment in middle-and high school is significantly associated with a number of psychosocial and educational problems ranging from symptoms of anxiety and depression (Dahlqvist et al 2016;Duffy et al 2004;Landstedt and Gillander Gådin 2011;Lichty and Campbell & Mons Bendixen mons.bendixen@ntnu.no 2012; Skoog et al 2015;Slaatten et al 2015), self-harm and suicidal ideation (Chiodo et al 2009), social avoidance (Duffy et al 2004), lower self-esteem and body image (Gruber and Fineran 2008;Ormerod et al 2008), loss of appetite and dieting (Chiodo et al 2009), self-injury (Chiodo et al 2009;Marshall et al 2013), and lower academic outcomes (Lichty and Campbell 2012).…”