Going Through the Rites of Passage: Timing and Transition of Menarche, Childhood Sexual Abuse, and Anxiety Symptoms in Girls

• NCJ Number: 237126
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2011 Pages: 1357-1370
• Author(s): Misaki N. Natsuaki; Leslie D. Leve; Jane Mendle
• Date Published: October 2011
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 MH054257; R21 DA027091; R01 DA024672; P30 DA023920
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health; US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined both the transition and timing of menarche on the trajectory of anxiety in girls with histories of childhood maltreatment.

Abstract

Menarche is a discrete, transitional event that holds considerable personal, social, biological, and developmental significance. The present longitudinal study examined both the transition and timing of menarche on the trajectory of anxiety in girls with histories of childhood maltreatment (N = 93; 63 percent European American, 14 percent multiracial, 10 percent Latino, 9 percent African-American, and 4 percent Native American). The authors hypothesized that because menarche is a novel, unfamiliar experience, girls would show greater anxiety around the time of menarche. The anxiety-provoking nature of menarche may be accentuated among earlier-maturing girls and girls with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Results indicated that earlier-maturing girls were more anxious in the pre- and peri-menarche periods than their later-maturing peers; however, their anxiety declined after menarche. Childhood sexual abuse was associated with heightened anxiety throughout this transition. The developmental significance of the timing and transition of menarche in relation to childhood sexual abuse and anxiety is discussed. (Published Abstract)