This study used baseline data from over 5,000 female youth participating in the national Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study to test hypotheses derived from Life History Theory (LHT) that exposure to multigenerational, intergenerational, and individual adversities are associated with earlier pubertal onset. Specifically, racially minoritized youth are more likely to experience distal and proximal environmental threats, which may contribute toward accelerated reproductive maturity. Findings suggest that distal multigenerational adversities and proximal personal aversities are synergistically associated with earlier female puberty, supporting these hypothesis and the potential utility of the LHT framework to identify contributors to pubertal timing and racialized differences.
Applying Life History Theory to Understand Earlier Onset of Puberty: An Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Cohort Analysis
Person: Thea Senger-Carpenter
