The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of early onset of menstruation and biological father absence on depression in females. Participants (n=46) were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and a series of psychometric assessments. It was hypothesized that females who reached puberty earlier than their peers as well as females growing up in a one-parent household, with the biological father absent, would experience more depressive symptoms than females who reached puberty later than their peers or were being raised in two-parent households. Statistical analyses revealed early maturing females reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than on-time and late maturing females. Early-maturing females who were raised in one-parent households demonstrated higher levels of depressive symptoms than early-maturing females who were raised in two-parent households. Early maturing females in one-parent households also reported lower levels of perceived cohesiveness between family members. Implications for developing early intervention techniques for females at risk for developing Major Depressive Disorder are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of early onset of menstruation and biological father absence on depression in females. Participants (n=46) were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and a series of psychometric assessments. It was hypothesized that females who reached puberty earlier than their peers as well as females growing up in a one-parent household, with the biological father absent, would experience more depressive symptoms than females who reached puberty later than their peers or were being raised in two-parent households. Statistical analyses revealed early maturing females reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than on-time and late maturing females. Early-maturing females who were raised in one-parent households demonstrated higher levels of depressive symptoms than early-maturing females who were raised in two-parent households. Early maturing females in one-parent households also reported lower levels of perceived cohesiveness between family members. Implications for developing early intervention techniques for females at risk for developing Major Depressive Disorder are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lirio, Lauren"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kerwin, Mary Louise E."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-05-13T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-05-13T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z","subjects":["Menstrual cycle--Psychological aspects; Precocious puberty","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/639","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kerwin, Mary Louise E."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lirio, Lauren"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Menstrual cycle--Psychological aspects; Precocious puberty","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/639"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of early onset of menstruation and biological father absence on depression in females. Participants (n=46) were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and a series of psychometric assessments. It was hypothesized that females who reached puberty earlier than their peers as well as females growing up in a one-parent household, with the biological father absent, would experience more depressive symptoms than females who reached puberty later than their peers or were being raised in two-parent households. Statistical analyses revealed early maturing females reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than on-time and late maturing females. Early-maturing females who were raised in one-parent households demonstrated higher levels of depressive symptoms than early-maturing females who were raised in two-parent households. Early maturing females in one-parent households also reported lower levels of perceived cohesiveness between family members. Implications for developing early intervention techniques for females at risk for developing Major Depressive Disorder are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Risk factors and protective factors for depression in early maturing females"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kerwin, Mary Louise E."],"dc:creator":["Lirio, Lauren"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of early onset of menstruation and biological father absence on depression in females. Participants (n=46) were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and a series of psychometric assessments. It was hypothesized that females who reached puberty earlier than their peers as well as females growing up in a one-parent household, with the biological father absent, would experience more depressive symptoms than females who reached puberty later than their peers or were being raised in two-parent households. Statistical analyses revealed early maturing females reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than on-time and late maturing females. Early-maturing females who were raised in one-parent households demonstrated higher levels of depressive symptoms than early-maturing females who were raised in two-parent households. Early maturing females in one-parent households also reported lower levels of perceived cohesiveness between family members. Implications for developing early intervention techniques for females at risk for developing Major Depressive Disorder are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/639"],"dc:subject":["Menstrual cycle--Psychological aspects; Precocious puberty","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Risk factors and protective factors for depression in early maturing females"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z"}