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Mood and Behavior at Adolescence: Evidence for Hormonal Factors^*

Department of Obstetrics, St. Luke's-Rooseuelt Hospital New York, New York 1001
Department of Gynecology, St. Luke's-Rooseuelt Hospital New York, New York 1001
Department of Medicine, Columbia College of Physicians New York, New York 10019
Department of Pediatrics Columbia College of Surgeons New York, New York 10019
Educational Testing Service Princeton, New Jersey 08541

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Michelle P. Warren, M.D., St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, Antennucci Building, 428 West 59th Street, New York, New York 10019.

We studied the relationship among behavior, mood, pubertal development, hormonal levels, and psychological functioning in 100 adolescent white girls between the ages of 10.6–13.3 yr.

The girls were grouped by pubertal breast stages and four stages of estradiol secretion. No significant mood or behavior changes were found as a function of pubertal stages, controlling for age effects, except for a decrease in interest in sports. The hormonal stages revealed a significant curvilinear trend for depressive affect (increase, then decrease; P < 0.01), impulse control (decrease, then increase; P < 0.04), and psychopathology (increase, then decrease; P < 0.03) scales, indicating significant changes in these behaviors during times of rapid increases in hormone levels. These data suggest that hormonal changes may be more important than the physical changes as determinants of certain mood and behavior patterns at adolescence.

^* This work was supported by the W. T. Grant Foundation and NIH Grant R01-HD-18508.

Received August 16, 1988.

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