Original article
A self-administered rating scale for pubertal development

https://doi.org/10.1016/1054-139X(93)90004-9Get rights and content

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of a new self-rating scale to measure children's pubertal status without pictorial representations or interviews. The scale is an adaptation of an interview-based puberty-rating scale by Petersen, and included scores for each of five items rating physical development, an overall maturation measure, and a categorical maturation score designed to be similar to Tanner staging categories. Each measure was obtained from independent ratings by students and parents, and a 3-point categorical scale was also obtained from teachers. Subjects included 698 5th- and 6th-grade students (323 boys and 375 girls) from 61 schools and their parents and teachers. Fifth-grade students rated themselves and were rated by parents as less mature than 6th graders; 6th-grade girls were consistently rated more mature than boys of the same age. Significant correlations were found between parents and students for all of the measures for 6th-graders and 5th-grade girls and several measures for 5th-grade boys. This new scale is a useful tool for assessing pubertal status in settings that require noninvasive measures.

References (9)

  • NM Schlossberger et al.

    Validity of self-reports of pubertal maturation in early adolescents

    J Adolesc Health

    (1992)
  • JM Tanner

    Growth at Adolescence

    (1962)
  • PM Duke et al.

    Adolescents' self-assessment of sexual maturation

    Pediatrics

    (1980)
  • NN Morris et al.

    Validation of a self-administered instrument to assess stage of adolescent development

    J Youth Adolesc

    (1980)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (552)

  • Intracortical Myelin in Youths at Risk for Depression

    2024, Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
View all citing articles on Scopus

This research was supported by NIMH grant MH45945 and a grant from Abbotte Laboratories.

View full text