Date of Completion
2016
Thesis Type
College of Arts and Science Honors
Department
Psychological Science
First Advisor
Rex Forehand
Keywords
Pubertal Timing; Relational Aggression; Internalizing Psychopathology
Abstract
The current study examined relational aggression as a potential mechanism that explains the association between off-time pubertal development and internalizing problems. Youth gender was also examined as a moderator for this association. Parents of 372 children between the ages of 8 and 17 were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Parents responded to demographic information about themselves, as well as information about their child’s pubertal timing, relational aggression, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Findings indicated that early pubertal timing was associated with both youth anxiety and depressive symptoms indirectly through relational aggression. This study is the first to examine relational aggression as a mechanism by which early pubertal timing leads to internalizing problems. The findings suggest that relational aggression could be a target for intervention among early developing youth who are at risk for internalizing problems.
Recommended Citation
Pomerantz, Hayley E., "Pubertal Timing and Youth Internalizing Psychopathology: The Role of Relational Aggression" (2016). UVM College of Arts and Sciences College Honors Theses. 21.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/castheses/21