Discuss how early or late maturation affects boys and girls.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In the Berkeley Longitudinal Study some years ago, early-maturing boys perceived themselves more positively and had more successful peer relations than did their late-maturing counterparts. When the late-maturing boys were in their thirties, however, they had developed a stronger sense of identity than the early-maturing boys had. For girls, early and late maturation have been linked with body image. In the sixth grade, early-maturing girls show greater satisfaction with their figures than do late-maturing girls, but by the tenth grade, late-maturing girls are more satisfied. An increasing number of researchers have found that early maturation increases girls' vulnerability to a number of problems. Early-maturing girls are more likely to smoke, drink, be depressed, have an eating disorder, struggle for earlier independence from their parents, and have older friends. Their bodies are likely to elicit responses from males that lead to earlier dating and earlier sexual experiences. Early-maturing girls also are less likely to graduate from high school, and they cohabit and marry earlier.