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'Bodzsár ÉB, Zsákai A, 2003: Relationship Between Physical and Psycho-social Development in Puberty. Anthropologie (Brno) 41, 1-2: 157-163'. |
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| Abstract | | Puberty is a hormonally unstable period of life, with dramatic dimensional changes and fast rate of sexual development. Although basically biological processes, growth and maturation are intimately involved in mental development and socialization. These processes interact in the development of personality. To accept our morphological constellation as part of our gender, may prove a problem even to a child of average rate of maturation. Adult self-assessment, a never ceasing process, has its roots in pubertal development. Any disharmony perceived affects adult self-acceptance and sense of identity, our emotional, conative and social development as well as our cognition. In view of these very complex and intricate interactions of pubertal development, the purpose of our study was to analyze (1) mental development in girls of the same age, but different maturity, (2) body image in relation to body composition, (3) the influence of late and early maturation on self-concept, (4) maturation-dependent concordance of the subject's and investigator's assessment of pubertal stage, (5) the effects of late and early maturation on social integration and interpersonal attitudes at school. The sample consisted of 487 healthy girls aged 10-14. Maturity status was estimated by Tanner's stages (1962) of breast and pubic hair, resp. pre- or postmenarcheal condition. To study self-rated maturity a form illustrating and shortly describing the stages had to be filled in. Fat percent was estimated by Siri's method. Mental performance was appraised by Raven test scores. Interpersonal relationships were studied by a 30-item questionnaire. Subgroup differences were analysed by the t- and chi-square tests at the 5% level. Results and conclusions: (1) Early maturers displayed better mental performance in Raven's intelligence test (2) Fat girls' body image tended to have more negative characters, while (3) only too rapid or too slow rates of maturation lead to a negative self-concept. (4) Concordance between self-assessment and objective stage of maturation was high in breast stages 1 and 5 and in all stages of pubic hair. (5) The distribution of high and low social prestige did not differ between early and late maturers, while social behaviour of the early maturers was more successful than that of the belated ones. | | | | Keywords | | Physical maturation - Body composition - Mental development - Body image - Social prestige - Puberty | | |
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