Prev Sci (2007) 8:1–10
DOI 10.1007/s11121-006-0046-1
ORIGINAL PAPER
Perceived Physical Maturity, Age of Romantic Partner,
and Adolescent Risk Behavior
Carolyn Tucker Halpern · Christine E. Kaestle ·
Denise Dion Hallfors
Published online: 14 September 2006
C
Society for Prevention Research 2006
Abstract Early pubertal timing and advanced physical ma-
turity for age confer elevated risk for problem behaviors for
both boys and girls. However, examinations of possible bio-
logical and social mediators have been limited. Using more
than 4,000 adolescents under age 15 who participated in
Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Ado-
lescent Health (Add Health), we examined the relationship
between perceived physical maturity and membership in risk
behavior clusters, and tested whether having a romantic part-
ner mediates the maturity/risk behavior relationship. Results
of multinomial regression models indicated that for both
boys and girls, advanced physical maturity was associated
with membership in higher risk clusters, and that having a
romantic partner plays an important mediating role in this
association. For females, the additional impact of having an
older partner, versus any partner at all, was substantial and
particularly important for the highest risk clusters. The role of
partner age could not be tested for males. Because romantic
partners elevate risk for young adolescent males and females,
there is a need to identify and understand facets and devel-
C. T. Halpern (
)
Department of Maternal & Child Health, CB # 7445,
University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445, USA
e-mail: carolyn
halpern@unc.edu
C. E. Kaestle
Department of Human Development,
Virginia Polytechnic and State University,
Blacksburg, VA 24061
D. D. Hallfors
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation,
1516 E. Franklin Street, Suite 200, Chapel Hill,
NC 27514-2812, USA
opmental functions of adolescent romantic relationships that
play a role in substance use and sexual decisions.
Keywords Cluster analysis
.
Pubertal timing
.
Sexuality
.
Substance use
.
Romantic partner
Introduction
Associations between pubertal timing and status and various
dimensions of adolescent development have been investi-
gated for more than 60 years. Findings indicate that early
timing and advanced status for age are associated with a
greater likelihood of risk behaviorfor both boys and girls, and
that these associations, although sometimes attenuated, have
implications for adult health and adjustment (e.g., Graber
et al., 2004; Stattin & Magnusson, 1990). Problematic out-
comes include externalizing behaviors such as delinquency
and aggression (Cota-Robles et al., 2002; Haynie, 2003), de-
pression (Graber et al., 2004; Kaltiala-Heinon et al., 2003;
Wiesner & Ittel, 2002), substance use (e.g., Lanza & Collins,
2002; Wiesner & Ittel, 2002), eating disorders (Kaltiala-
Heino et al., 2001), and early sexual transition (Cavanagh,
2004). However, patterns of associations with various types
of risk behavior are not always consistent across studies,
probably due to variations in measures of pubertal timing
and status (Dorn et al., 2003) and a wide range of poten-
tial moderating influences such as parenting style and school
gender composition (Caspi et al., 1993;Geet al., 2001;
2002).
Despite the large literature examining the consequences
of pubertal timing, attempts to identify specific biologi-
cal, psychological, and social processes that mediate the
relationships between pubertal timing and risk behav-
ior/developmental outcomes have been limited. Mediators of
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