Childhood family disruption and adult height: Is there a mediating role of puberty?

Abstract

Background and objectives: Childhood family background is known to be associated with child growth and development, including the onset of puberty, but less is known about the influence of childhood family disruption on outcomes in later life. Given the associations between early family disruption and childhood development, we predicted that there may be long-term health-relevant consequences of childhood disruption. Methodology: Using data from a large US interview sample (n = 16 207), we test if death or divorce of parents, at different childhood periods, was associated with adult stature, and whether age at puberty mediated this relationship, for men and women. Results: Men: parental death and divorce during early childhood was associated with shorter adult height, and later puberty. Later puberty was associated with shorter adult height. Path analyses demonstrated that the relationship between parental divorce and height was completely mediated by age at puberty; although parental death was only partially mediated by age at puberty. Women: the father's death during early childhood was associated with earlier puberty, which was in turn associated with shorter adult stature. The relationship between paternal death and height is entirely mediated by age at puberty; no evidence of a direct relationship between childhood family disruption and adult height. Conclusions: Early childhood familial disruption is associated with shorter height for men, and is partially mediated by later puberty. For women, the relationship between father's death, and height was completely mediated by earlier puberty. These findings indicate that disruption during childhood can have long-reaching health repercussions, particularly for boys.