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Growing Up Young

The Relationship Between Childhood Stress and Coping With Early Puberty

Women's Studies Department at Tufts University

This article presents findings from a study of the role of prior childhood adversity in the pubertal narratives of 16 African-American and White girls, defining adversity as the experience of stressful circumstances (e.g., abandonment, abuse) or psychological states (e.g., depression) that influence the experience of later life events, relationships, and self-perception. A majority of the girls reported such adversity, explaining that it either trivialized the problems typically ascribed to early puberty or demanded early maturity, particularly adult female roles, which consequently affected their adjustment to early pubescence. The author discusses the implications of childhood adversity for the salience of early puberty, examining the ways these identity features intersect to blur the staging of girls' development by producing multiple crossings into adulthood.

Key Words: girl • puberty • stress • adolescence • trauma

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