Pubertal Hormones as a Measurement Method of Pubertal Stage and Timing Related to Internalizing Psychopathology in Adolescent Girls

Correctly measuring puberty is important for capturing variation in trajectories associated with mental health outcomes. Measuring hormones is one method of estimating pubertal stage. However, evidence for correspondence with other markers of maturation, such as chronological age and self-reported physical characteristics, is inconsistent (Aim 1). Furthermore, it is unclear if pubertal timing (stage compared to same-age peers) from hormones predicts internalizing psychopathology (Aim 2).