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Early Puberty, Divorce and Middle Class Girls
Middle class girls with absent fathers at risk for early puberty
Just when you thought we’d heard every possible explanation for the increasing rates of early puberty in girls, researchers come up with yet another one. In addition to high-meat diets, working moms and childhood obesity, we can now blame divorce.
But only when it happens to the parents of middle class girls.
According to research out of the University of Berkeley, California, middle class girls whose parents divorce are two and a half times more likely to start puberty early than their peers whose parents stay together.
Doctors say this is likely due to the stress brought on by the divorce. But, interestingly, the findings did not hold true for girls from poorer households. In lower-income families, mom and dad splitting up had no impact on the onset of puberty in their daughters.
The explanation? Some experts say that middle class girls, who tend to be more isolated and have less support from friends and family, are more deeply affected by divorce than their less wealthy counterparts.
I find that explanation hard to believe and think it sounds completely made up.
Other explanations take into account that wealthier girls have access to more stuff. And a lot of that stuff, including makeup and hair care products, have been found to contain hormone-disrupting chemicals.
But the bottom line remains the same: Nobody really knows why our girls are reaching puberty so much earlier than they used to. But as the parent of a fully developed 10-year-old, I would really like to know.
Image: geishaboy500/Flickr
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[...] Early Puberty, Divorce and Middle Class Girls [...]
Bratz Dolls Are Back | Strollerderby commented on Sep 20 10 at 11:08 am[...] various studies have suggested that other factors include: absent fathers, divorce, a high-meat diet, family stress, and exposure to bisphenol-A (BPA) and [...]
Puberty | Strollerderby commented on Oct 01 10 at 8:04 pmbob commented on Sep 17 10 at 3:05 pmOnce we finish ridding ourselves of our middle class, this problem will be moot.
laura commented on Sep 17 10 at 3:18 pmOnce again, the article you reference did NOT say that working moms cause early puberty. It said that insecure infant attachments caused early puberty. The Babble author was the one who made that jump. I hope some people actually read research and not just blogs’ interpretations of the research…
TC commented on Sep 17 10 at 3:43 pmGreat comeback, Bob!
Amy commented on Sep 18 10 at 1:30 pmSo is it the trauma of DIVORCE or the ABSENT FATHER that the research says is associated with early puberty? The linked article is sloppily written. Is it only when BOTH variables occur together? What about children of divorce who live with their single Dad? What about children living with their mother only because Dad is deployed overseas, or has passed away?
Deb commented on Sep 19 10 at 11:48 amPerhaps the real mechanism is a more subtle biological one directly related to the presence of a father’s hormones in suppressing the fertility of his daughters. It’s been long understood that a delayed, lengthened childhood is the hallmark of longer lives. A situation that sees the father absent, means that the mother now is the (ostensibly) sole support. Given the caveman past of H. Sapiens, where life was brutal, violent and short, a missing father, not present to offer support means the child HAS to mature faster. From a purely biological, animal evolutionary perspective, this makes sense. As to the differences in low-income vs. high-income, that may play out to the general differences in diet and healthcare. Higher income families CAN have better access to food that allows their children to reach breeding age quicker in crisis (no father) situations. If you look at it as a race for genes to propagate from one generation to the next and compete with OTHER humans to do the same, this fits.
No mystery at all.
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