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      Timing of menarche and self-harm in adolescence and adulthood: a population-based cohort study

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          Abstract

          Background

          Previous studies of pubertal timing and self-harm are limited by subjective measures of pubertal timing or by the conflation of self-harm with suicide attempts and ideation. The current study investigates the association between an objective measure of pubertal timing – age at menarche – and self-harm with and without suicidal intent in adolescence and adulthood in females.

          Method

          Birth cohort study based on 4042 females from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Age at menarche was assessed prospectively between ages 8 and 17 years. Lifetime history of self-harm was self-reported at ages 16 and 21 years. Associations between age at menarche and self-harm, both with and without suicidal intent, were examined using multivariable logistic regression.

          Results

          Later age at menarche was associated with a lower risk of lifetime self-harm at age 16 years (OR per-year increase in age at menarche 0.87; 95% CI 0.80–0.95). Compared with normative timing, early menarche (<11.5 years) was associated with an increased risk of self-harm (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.04–1.64) and later menarche (>13.8 years) with a reduced risk (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58–0.93). The pattern of association was similar at age 21 years (OR per-year increase in age at menarche 0.92, 95% CI 0.85–1.00). There was no strong evidence for a difference in associations with suicidal v. non-suicidal self-harm.

          Conclusions

          Risk of self-harm is higher in females with early menarche onset. Future research is needed to establish whether this association is causal and to identify potential mechanisms.

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          Most cited references52

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          Detection of postnatal depression. Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

          The development of a 10-item self-report scale (EPDS) to screen for Postnatal Depression in the community is described. After extensive pilot interviews a validation study was carried out on 84 mothers using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for depressive illness obtained from Goldberg's Standardised Psychiatric Interview. The EPDS was found to have satisfactory sensitivity and specificity, and was also sensitive to change in the severity of depression over time. The scale can be completed in about 5 minutes and has a simple method of scoring. The use of the EPDS in the secondary prevention of Postnatal Depression is discussed.
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            A self-report measure of pubertal status: Reliability, validity, and initial norms.

            Puberty is a central process in the complex set of changes that constitutes the transition from childhood to adolescence. Research on the role of pubertal change in this transition has been impeded by the difficulty of assessing puberty in ways acceptable to young adolescents and others involved. Addressing this problem, this paper describes and presents norms for a selfreport measure of pubertal status. The measure was used twice annually over a period of three years in a longitudinal study of 335 young adolescent boys and girls. Data on a longitudinal subsample of 253 subjects are reported. The scale shows good reliability, as indicated by coefficient alpha. In addition, several sources of data suggest that these reports are valid. The availability of such a measure is important for studies, such as those based in schools, in which more direct measures of puberty may not be possible.
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              The age of adolescence

              Adolescence is the phase of life stretching between childhood and adulthood, and its definition has long posed a conundrum. Adolescence encompasses elements of biological growth and major social role transitions, both of which have changed in the past century. Earlier puberty has accelerated the onset of adolescence in nearly all populations, while understanding of continued growth has lifted its endpoint age well into the 20s. In parallel, delayed timing of role transitions, including completion of education, marriage, and parenthood, continue to shift popular perceptions of when adulthood begins. Arguably, the transition period from childhood to adulthood now occupies a greater portion of the life course than ever before at a time when unprecedented social forces, including marketing and digital media, are affecting health and wellbeing across these years. An expanded and more inclusive definition of adolescence is essential for developmentally appropriate framing of laws, social policies, and service systems. Rather than age 10-19 years, a definition of 10-24 years corresponds more closely to adolescent growth and popular understandings of this life phase and would facilitate extended investments across a broader range of settings.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Psychol Med
                Psychol Med
                PSM
                Psychological Medicine
                Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK )
                0033-2917
                1469-8978
                September 2020
                28 August 2019
                : 50
                : 12
                : 2010-2018
                Affiliations
                [1 ]National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and University of Bristol , Bristol, UK
                [2 ]Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol, UK
                [3 ]Medical Research Council Integrated Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol , Bristol, UK
                Author notes
                Author for correspondence: Elystan Roberts, E-mail: elystan.roberts@ 123456bristol.ac.uk
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3689-6040
                Article
                S0033291719002095
                10.1017/S0033291719002095
                7525770
                31456538
                1d9a4e53-3b78-4a8a-b146-49c048a5fb71
                © Cambridge University Press 2019

                This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 31 January 2019
                : 18 July 2019
                : 25 July 2019
                Page count
                Tables: 4, References: 66, Pages: 9
                Categories
                Original Articles

                Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry
                alspac,menarche,puberty,self-harm
                Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry
                alspac, menarche, puberty, self-harm

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