Mega Doctor News
By Savannah Peat University of Georgia
Newswise — Testosterone may play a bigger role in the emotional development of girls entering puberty than previously thought, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
Higher levels of change in the hormone were linked to more emotional difficulties for girls between the ages of 10 and 12, even when accounting for the presence of other hormonal levels, the study found.
The study also suggests physical development during early puberty is less likely to predict depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescent girls than hormone levels.
“Some girls may become more emotionally vulnerable during early puberty, and that’s important because it’s sometimes happening before the parents even notice or see any signs of distress,” said Assaf Oshri, co-author of the study and a professor in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Oshri also serves as director of the Georgia Center for Developmental Science. “We’re identifying a risk mechanism that gives us a better window of opportunity to prevent mental health problems from escalating.”
As the preteen age range is a critical period for emotional and brain development, understanding what youth go through could help circumvent some of the additional mental struggles they may experience, the researchers said.
Different hormones may influence girls at different ages
Researchers analyzed data of more than 5,400 girls from the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States.
Prior research has indicated estradiol, which is derived from estrogen, as the driver of many of the mental and physical changes young girls experience when entering puberty.
The present study found that between the ages of 10 and 12, testosterone gradually increased year over year. Girls with more change in testosterone in that age range were more likely to report increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. They felt lonely or were worried about what others thought of them.
“It’s not necessarily that if you have too much testosterone you’re going to be depressed or anxious. It’s that this is a vulnerable period when you first become really sensitive to social feedback,” said Avary Evans, corresponding author of the study and a graduate assistant in the UGA department of human development and family science. “If your environment is giving you social feedback that leads to anxiety and depression, that’s when you’re going to be vulnerable to it.”
“Puberty is not a problem … Puberty just creates a window of increased sensitivity, and we need to be aware of it.”
Avary Evans, College of Family & Consumer Sciences
Researchers also found that DHEA, a precursor for testosterone, spiked in girls as young as age 9. That hormone could accelerate development during puberty and, in turn, exacerbate these emotional difficulties.
Estrogen became more present during later stages of puberty, between ages 11 and 13.
This suggests that different hormones may influence mental health at different times, even past testosterone’s peak, the study found.
Even when accounting for DHEA and estradiol levels, testosterone remained the most significant predictor of depression or anxiety-related symptoms in young girls.
“What we found are not clinical disorders yet. That’s what makes them a developmental precursor or a red flag. This is emotional distress,” Oshri said. “Testosterone may mark a period when the brain becomes more sensitive to social feedback. So, when your body is more developed than your peers and that social feedback is really meaningful, you’re actually processing it. And it affects you, sometimes negatively.”
Physical maturation less indicative of mental health than hormones
Physical development did not have an equal impact on emotional distress, the study found.
Girls in the same age range who began showing secondary sex characteristics earlier often reported fewer feelings of depression and anxiety. Estrogen, timed out with that physical transition, may actually serve as a biological shield against these feelings, the researchers said.
“Puberty is not just a physical maturation. It’s also a major biological transition in the brain,” Oshri said. “A girl may not look dramatically different yet, but their endocrine system may already be changing in ways that affect stress sensitivity, emotional reactivity and mood.
“There’s a lot happening under the surface.”
Youth may benefit from earlier support systems
Mental health interventions are typically offered for youth in their teenage years. But early puberty — that 10 to 12 age range — may also be an important time for supporting emotional well-being, the researchers said.
“Puberty is not a problem. Most adolescent girls and boys navigate puberty very successfully,” Evans said. “Puberty just creates a window of increased sensitivity, and we need to be aware of it.
“If we are proactive before all of this scary change is happening, not only on the outside but also in their brain, then we might be able to curb a little bit of that freakout time.”
The study was published in Psychoneuroendocrinology and is part of a larger National Institutes of Health-funded project led by Oshri. Co-authors include FACS Athletic Association Professor of Human Development Steven Kogan, associate professor Kalsea Koss and associate dean for research Charles Geier, as well as child psychiatrist Ellen House, a clinical professor at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership. Geier and Kogan also serve as associate directors of the Georgia Center for Developmental Science, where House serves as an investigator.
