Pubertal development and problem behaviours in Indian adolescents

Abstract

Pubertal status refers to the current level of physical development experienced by the adolescent relative to the overall process of pubertal change. Despite the fact that these pubertal changes are universal in nature, there are individual differences with regard to the age at which specific pubertal changes occur and this is referred to as pubertal timing. Thus, the present work makes an attempt to investigate the effect of these aspects of puberty as they carry importance for both psychological and social functioning of adolescents. For this purpose, data were collected from 772 adolescents using measures of Pubertal Developmental Scale (PDS; Petersen, Crockett, Richards and Boxer (1988) and Youth Self Report (YSR). Pubertal timing but not pubertal status was found as a significant predictor of problem behaviours in adolescents and this relation was not moderated by gender.