Sex-Specific Associations Between Trauma Exposure, Pubertal Timing, and Anxiety in Black Children

Recent research has linked early life stress (ELS), such as trauma exposure, with early puberty. Early puberty has also been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health outcomes. However, these two paths have primarily been examined independently. In addition, more studies have examined these...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in human neuroscience 2021-06, Vol.15, p.636199-636199
Main Authors: Stenson, Anaïs F, Michopoulos, Vasiliki, Stevens, Jennifer S, Powers, Abigail, Jovanovic, Tanja
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Children
Children & youth
development
Gender differences
Girls
Human Neuroscience
Mental disorders
Mental health
Physical growth
Psychopathology
Puberty
Risk factors
Sex
sex differences
Trauma
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Summary:Recent research has linked early life stress (ELS), such as trauma exposure, with early puberty. Early puberty has also been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health outcomes. However, these two paths have primarily been examined independently. In addition, more studies have examined these associations in girls than boys, and findings for boys remain mixed. We hypothesized that early puberty (relative to peers) would be positively associated with both prior trauma exposure and concurrent anxiety symptoms. We anticipated that these associations might differ by sex. We tested these hypotheses within a cross-sectional sample of 133 8- to 13-year-old Black girls and boys with trauma exposure. The association between trauma and accelerated pubertal timing was sex-specific: it was positive for girls and negative for boys. We stratified subsequent analyses by sex. Regression analyses indicated that early puberty relative to peers predicted more anxiety symptoms for girls but not boys, after accounting for trauma exposure. A statistical mediation analysis indicated that, for girls, the positive association between trauma exposure and anxiety was partially mediated by pubertal timing. These results indicate that trauma exposure may have sex-specific effects on pubertal timing and anxiety risk in Black children. We also found that, for girls, trauma may increase risk for adverse outcomes by prompting earlier puberty, which is linked to higher anxiety. These findings are consistent with cascading effects of trauma across development, and highlight the need for further study of sex-specific mechanisms.
ISSN:1662-5161
1662-5161
DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2021.636199