Pubertal development and depression in adolescent boys and girls

The present study investigated the relation between pubertal development and adolescents' depression, as mediated by acceptance of pubertal development and body change behavior. The participants were 870 young adolescents (445 boys, 425 girls; mean age 13.84) who were junior high school students. Participants completed a questionnaire on pubertal development, acceptance of pubertal development, depression, body satisfaction, body change behaviors to lose weight, body change behaviors to gain weight, and behavior to avoid exposure. The main results were as follows : (1) For the boys, there was no association between pubertal development and adolescent depression, neither a direct effect nor a mediated effect. (2) For the girls, there was little direct effect in the relation between pubertal development and adolescent depression, although increasing subcutaneous fat was directly related to depression. (3) For the girls, acceptance of pubertal development was related to body satisfaction and behavior to avoid exposure. Body satisfaction and behavior to avoid exposure were correlated with depression in the girls.