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Individual differences are accentuated during periods of social change: the sample case of girls at puberty.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Caspi, A; Moffitt, TE
Published in: Journal of personality and social psychology
July 1991

The emergence of new behaviors and the reorganization of psychological structures are often attributed to critical events and crises in the life course. A fundamentally different perspective is offered: Potentially disruptive transitions produce personality continuity, not change. The behavioral responses of adolescent girls to the onset of menarche was studied in a longitudinal study of an unselected birth cohort. Predictions from 3 rival hypotheses about the relation between pubertal change and social psychological change were first tested: the stressful change, off time, and early-timing hypotheses. The results supported the early-timing hypothesis. Whether stressful, early menarche generated new behavioral problems or accentuated premenarcheal dispositions was then tested. The results supported an accentuation model: Stressful transitions accentuated behavioral problems among girls who were predisposed to behavioral problems earlier in childhood. Speculations are offered for a broader theory about the role of individual differences in the life course.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

July 1991

Volume

61

Issue

1

Start / End Page

157 / 168

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • Social Change
  • Puberty
  • Personality Development
  • Menarche
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Individuality
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Cohort Studies
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (1991). Individual differences are accentuated during periods of social change: the sample case of girls at puberty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(1), 157–168. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.61.1.157
Caspi, A., and T. E. Moffitt. “Individual differences are accentuated during periods of social change: the sample case of girls at puberty.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61, no. 1 (July 1991): 157–68. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.61.1.157.
Caspi A, Moffitt TE. Individual differences are accentuated during periods of social change: the sample case of girls at puberty. Journal of personality and social psychology. 1991 Jul;61(1):157–68.
Caspi, A., and T. E. Moffitt. “Individual differences are accentuated during periods of social change: the sample case of girls at puberty.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 61, no. 1, July 1991, pp. 157–68. Epmc, doi:10.1037//0022-3514.61.1.157.
Caspi A, Moffitt TE. Individual differences are accentuated during periods of social change: the sample case of girls at puberty. Journal of personality and social psychology. 1991 Jul;61(1):157–168.

Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

July 1991

Volume

61

Issue

1

Start / End Page

157 / 168

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • Social Change
  • Puberty
  • Personality Development
  • Menarche
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Individuality
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Cohort Studies