Early puberty is particularly deleterious, especially for girls. This phenomenon, which marks the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, appears at about 13 years of age today, compared with age sixteen a century ago. Indeed, the pituitary gland acts to amplify the production of sex hormones namely, estrogen and progesterone for girls, or testosterone for boys. Therefor, the emergency of puberty upsets the young person’s balance by asking him to accept a new body and consequently to assume a new social role as a full-fledged man or woman (Coslin, 2007).
These many changes are often badly experienced for teenagers wishing to stay in the norm. They can create a deep sense of difference to the rest of the group and impact the adolescent more widely. Girls seem to be the most affected by this phenomenon. Indeed, they would be more prone to depressive, food and behavioral disorders as well as to drug addiction. At the same time, boys would internalize the symptoms in the form of anxiety and a negative self-image. Nevertheless, both genders experience difficulties of adaptation to their environment and are likely susceptible to have an early sexuality. Mendle suggests that “these children have a level of cognitive, social and emotional development quite consistent with their age, but physically they look older.” By this apparent physical maturity, parents would be more inclined to grant freedoms sometimes inadequate to their teenage. Along the same period, the identity’s construction involves a disengagement from the family environment, for the peer group’s benefit (Ricaud-Droisy, Oubrayrie-Roussel & Safont-Mottay, 2014). In the case of early puberty, the adolescent tends to associate with older groups who may engage in risky behaviors.
How to explain early puberty and what factors are involved ?
It appears that an unstable environment constitutes a major risk in the emergence of an early puberty. Although the links between these factors are not clearly established, low socio-economic status, father’s absence at home and conflicting family relationships seem to increase the stress experienced by the young person. This stress will therefore directly affect the pubertal process, and accelerate its implementation.
Another way of explaining this phenomenon is to consider the culture in which the adolescent lives. Indeed, social expectations may differ from country to country. For example, some societies expect young people to be self-sufficient quickly to support the family.
On the other hand, although improvements in nutrition have had a beneficial effect on the health of individuals, it has also contributed to the increase of obesity, presented as a risk factor in the emergence of obesity, an early puberty. Other researchers are also interested in the role played by endocrine disruptors.
In conclusion, early puberty remains difficult to apprehend. Yet this is a key period, strongly correlated with the development of depression, especially among women. At this moment of psychological vulnerability where the adolescent questions their future prospects, the challenge is to work with adolescents their ability to adapt.
Written by Fiona Péan & Anaïs Ricateau (M2 PEADID)
To go further :
- Coslin, P.G. (2007). La socialisation de l’adolescent. Paris: Armand. Colin.
- Ricaud-Droisy, H., Oubrayrie-Roussel, N., & Safont-Mottay, C. (2014). Psychologie du développement: Enfance et adolescence (2e éd.). Paris: Dunod.
