There have been numerous past calls for studies to examine pubertal development, rather than just age, in developmental research. These calls are timely and appropriate given the significant effects of pubertal development on a range of internalizing (e.g., eating disorders, depression) and externalizing (e.g., antisocial behavior) disorders. However, with this increased attention, some ambiguity in puberty constructs have crept into this important area of research. Previously clear lines between pubertal status versus pubertal timing have become blurred. In this Editorial, we define pubertal status and timing, describe how definitions and measurement models can confound these constructs, and propose new language for describing pubertal status and timing effects that may help establish clearer lines between these pubertal processes. We hope this piece will be a catalyst for more research and a testing of our lexical and empirical suggestions that are aimed at moving the field of developmental psychopathology forward in this critical area of adolescent health.
Klump et al. (Fri,) studied this question.