ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the relationships between advanced puberty timing and frequencies of problem behaviors using two different indexes of pubertal development as cut-off standards. Methods A total of 3003 primary school girls aged 6~11 in Beijing were recruited in the study. Parent-assessed Tanner staging according to the menarche and pubic hair development level and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist were applied. Results When timing of menarche and pubic hair development stage were used as reference, the detection rate of girls with advanced puberty timing was 11.2% (337/3003) and 3.4% (101/3003), respectively. The scores of withdrawal problem (Z=-2.23, P=0.03) and physical problem (Z=-2.64, P=0.01) were higher in the advanced menarche group than in the moderate group. The scores of withdrawal behavior problem were higher in the advanced pubic hair development group than in the moderate group (X2=2.53, P=0.03). Scores of social problem (X2=2.71, P=0.02), aggression problem (X2=2.50, P=0.04), total score of problem behavior (X2=2.64, P=0.03) were also higher in the advanced pubic hair development group than in the delayed group. The correlation between the pubertal timing results based on the two different cut-off standards was not significant (r=0.04, P=0.06). Conclusion T he detection rate of girls with advanced puberty timing are different using the two different cut-off standards. The prominent problem behaviors in the advanced group are also different. Compared with girls with advanced menarche, girls with advanced pubic hair development may have more prominent problem behaviors than those with moderate development.