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Associations Between Pubertal Stage and Depression: A Systematic Review of the Literature

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Abstract

The current article systematically reviews the literature and provides results from 36 studies testing the relation between pubertal stage and depression, as well as moderators and mediators of this relation. Results indicate that there is a significant relation between advancing pubertal stage and depression among girls, and this effect is strongest among White girls. Among boys, risk for depression does not increase with pubertal stage. Importantly, gonadal development appears to be driving the pubertal stage effect. Increasing hormone concentrations, shared environmental stressors, and body esteem appear to be mechanisms of this relation; increases in nonshared environmental stressors (negative life events, peer victimization) moderate the relation between pubertal stage and depression. Inconsistencies in findings across studies can be explained by methodological differences. Future work on this topic should control for age, examine differences by sex, and utilize within-person analyses to evaluate the effect of pubertal stage on depression over time.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Drs. Thomas Olino and Deborah Drabick, who offered critical feedback on the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH079369 and MH101168 to Lauren B. Alloy.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Temple University, Weiss Hall, 1701 N. 13th St, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA

    Allison Stumper & Lauren B. Alloy

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Stumper, A., Alloy, L.B. Associations Between Pubertal Stage and Depression: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 54, 312–339 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01244-0

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