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Developmental Trajectories of Executive Functioning and Puberty in Boys and Girls

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Abstract

There are substantial changes in executive functioning during adolescence that may correspond with the onset and progression of puberty. The current study examines associations between pubertal development (timing and tempo) and changes in specific executive functioning skills (i.e., attention and self-control) across the transition from childhood to adolescence (ages 9.5–15.5) using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (1099 youth; 52% female, 81% White, 83% above the poverty line). The findings indicated that early maturation was associated with faster increases in attention skills over adolescence for both boys and girls. Further, early maturation predicted worse self-control among girls but not boys. This study provides new insights on executive functioning during the transition to adolescence—a period of both vulnerability and opportunity.

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Data and Sharing Declaration

The data that support the findings of this study are available from Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. However, data are available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.

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Acknowledgements

This research uses data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD), a longitudinal, multi-site prospective project directed by a steering committee and funded through a series of cooperative agreements (U10s and a U01). We thank the principal investigators and families who participated in this study. Information on how to obtain the SECCYD data files is available on the NICHD SECCYD website (https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/series/00233). No direct support was received from NICHD for this analysis and the views expressed in this article are the authors alone. The authors also gratefully acknowledge feedback from Dr. Terri Sabol (Northwestern University) and Dr. Ann Higgins (Fordham University) on early drafts of this manuscript.

Authors’ Contributions

NC and LTH conceived of the study. NC performed the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; LTH oversaw and provided feedback on the statistical analysis and helped draft and edit the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Natasha Chaku & Lindsay T. Hoyt

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  1. Natasha Chaku
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Chaku, N., Hoyt, L.T. Developmental Trajectories of Executive Functioning and Puberty in Boys and Girls. J Youth Adolescence 48, 1365–1378 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01021-2

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