TY - JOUR
T1 - Secure Infant-Mother Attachment Buffers the Effect of Early-Life Stress on Age of Menarche
AU - Sung, Sooyeon
AU - Simpson, Jeff
AU - Griskevicius, Vladas
AU - Kuo, Sally I.Chun
AU - Schlomer, Gabriel L.
AU - Belsky, Jay
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.
PY - 2016/5
Y1 - 2016/5
N2 - Prior research indicates that being reared in stressful environments is associated with earlier onset of menarche in girls. In this research, we examined (a) whether these effects are driven by exposure to certain dimensions of stress (harshness or unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life and (b) whether the negative effects of stress on the timing of menarche are buffered by secure infant-mother attachment. Results revealed that (a) exposure to greater harshness (but not unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life predicted earlier menarche and (b) secure infant-mother attachment buffered girls from this effect of harsh environments. By connecting attachment research to its evolutionary foundations, these results illuminate how environmental stressors and relationships early in life jointly affect pubertal timing.
AB - Prior research indicates that being reared in stressful environments is associated with earlier onset of menarche in girls. In this research, we examined (a) whether these effects are driven by exposure to certain dimensions of stress (harshness or unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life and (b) whether the negative effects of stress on the timing of menarche are buffered by secure infant-mother attachment. Results revealed that (a) exposure to greater harshness (but not unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life predicted earlier menarche and (b) secure infant-mother attachment buffered girls from this effect of harsh environments. By connecting attachment research to its evolutionary foundations, these results illuminate how environmental stressors and relationships early in life jointly affect pubertal timing.
KW - adolescent development
KW - evolutionary psychology
KW - relationship quality
KW - stress reactions
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U2 - 10.1177/0956797616631958
DO - 10.1177/0956797616631958
M3 - Article
C2 - 26980153
AN - SCOPUS:84966694955
SN - 0956-7976
VL - 27
SP - 667
EP - 674
JO - Psychological Science
JF - Psychological Science
IS - 5
ER -