A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF ADOLESCENTS CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF PUBERTAL TIMING

This study examined, longitudinally, adolescents' self-ratings of timing of puberty and how these perceptions are related to an objective measure of pubertal timing, pubertal status, and feelings about their pubertal timing during 7th, 8th, and 12th grades. There is moderate consistency in self-reported pubertal timing across adolescence. Perceptions of pubertal timing at 12th grade were predicted by both actual pubertal timing and 8th-grade perceptions. Furthermore, the direct comparison of perceived timing with an objective timing measure indicated that perceptions became more accurate by 12th grade. Feelings about pubertal timing were related to perceived timing but not to the objective measure of pubertal timing. These results suggest that actual and perceived timing are overlapping but distinct timing measures that reflect different biological and psychosocial processes.