Explaining the pathway from pubertal timing to psychopathology: The role of exposure to peer stressors and social goals

Puberty is a key developmental transition associated with increased risk for depression and externalizing behavior. This dissertation examined how actual and perceived pubertal timing predict psychological adjustment in early adolescence, with attention to exposure to peer stressors as a mediating mechanism and youth social motivational goals as moderators. Study 1 used a three-wave longitudinal sample of 167 youth (Mage = 12.41, SD = 1.19; range = 9.6–14.8) to test whether exposure to peer stressors mediated associations between pubertal timing and depressive or externalizing symptoms over time. Earlier actual timing predicted higher depression, but exposure to peer stressors did not mediate this effect. Perceived timing was not significantly associated to either exposure to peer stressors or psychopathology. Study 2 followed 636 youth (Mage in 5th grade = 10.94, SD = 0.36) from 5th to 7th grade, examining overt and relational victimization as mediators and social goals as moderators of the link between pubertal timing and psychological adjustment. Earlier actual timing predicted higher levels of both depression and externalizing behavior. Among girls, overt victimization mediated both outcomes. Moderated mediation models revealed a significant interaction between overt victimization and performance-approach goals in predicting externalizing behavior. Simple slopes and conditional indirect effects were significant only for girls with higher levels of performance-approach goals. Perceived timing showed no significant effects. These findings suggest that actual, but not perceived, pubertal timing confers risk for psychological difficulties in early adolescence, particularly among girls, through heightened exposure to overt victimization and in interaction with status-relevant social motivations.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Ye, Zihua

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rudolph, Karen D.
• Pomerantz, Eva M.
• Tu, Kelly M.
• Joseph, Cohen R.
• Xia, Yan

• Puberty
• Depression
• Externalizing Behavior
• Peer Stress
• Social Goals

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Zihua Ye

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130158

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F130158