Longitudinal Reliability of Self-Reported Age at Menarche in Adolescent Girls: Variability Across Time and Setting

• Published in: Developmental psychology 2013-06, Vol.49 (6), p.1187-1193
• Main Authors: Dorn, Lorah D., Sontag-Padilla, Lisa M., Pabst, Stephanie, Tissot, Abbigail, Susman, Elizabeth J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescent girls; Adolescents; Age Differences; Age Factors; Age of onset; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Case Studies; Child; Correlation; Correlation analysis; Developmental psychology; Family Socioeconomic Status; Female; Females; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health Personnel; Human; Human Females; Humans; Individual Characteristics; Individual Differences; Interviews; Intraindividual Variability; Longitudinal Studies; Menarche; Menarche - psychology; Methodology. Experimentation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychometrics. Statistics. Methodology; Puberty; Racial and Ethnic Differences; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Research Assistants; Research Methodology; Self Report; Statistics as Topic; Teenagers; Telecommunications; Test Reliability; Test-Retest Reliability; Time Factors; Variability
• ISSN: 0012-1649; 1939-0599
• DOI: 10.1037/a0029424

Age at menarche is critical in research and clinical settings, yet there is a dearth of studies examining its reliability in adolescents. We examined age at menarche during adolescence, specifically, (a) average method reliability across 3 years, (b) test-retest reliability between time points and methods, (c) intraindividual variability of reports, and (d) whether intraindividual variability differed by setting or individual characteristics. Girls (n = 253) were enrolled in a cross-sequential study in age cohorts (11, 13, 15, and 17 years). Age at menarche was assessed using 3 annual, in-person clinician interviews followed by 9 quarterly phone interviews conducted by research assistants. Reliability of age at menarche across time was moderate and varied by method. In-person interviews showed greater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .77) versus phone interviews (ICC = .64). Test-retest reliability in reports did not decrease across time. However, average differences in reported age varied as much as 2.3 years (SD = 2.2 years), with approximately 9% demonstrating differences greater than 4.5 years. Pubertal timing category (i.e., early, late) changed for 22.7% if categorized at the final versus the first report of age at menarche. Reliability was moderate, but average differences in reported age were notable and concerning. Using in-person clinician interviews may enhance reliability. Researchers and clinicians should be cognizant of the implications of using different methods measuring age at menarche when interpreting research findings.