Abstract
The goal of this study was to determine whether aspects of pubertal maturation vary across race/ethnicity. To this end, we investigated two components of pubertal maturation (i.e., onset of menarche and perceptions of pubertal timing) in a multiethnic, multisocioeconomic sample of urban adolescent girls (N = 866). There were 314 African American, 404 Latina, and 148 White adolescents across low, middle, and high socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds who completed self-report measures of these indicators of pubertal maturation. Adolescents' age at interview ranged from 8.1 to 16.44 years old (M = 12.08, SD = 2.38 years old). Primary caregivers reported information about each family's socioeconomic factors (e.g., primary caretaker's educational attainment, annual household income, and occupational prestige). At the time of the first assessment, 41% of the sample was menarcheal. The range of ages for onset of menarche was consistent across racial/ethnic groups. Results indicated that Latina girls reached menarche significantly earlier than did their White counterparts. However, after controlling for socioeconomic indicators, the significant age difference in menarcheal onset between Latina and White girls disappeared. This finding highlights the importance of including socioeconomic factors in explorations of menarcheal differences across race/ethnicity. Latinas reached menarche earlier than African Americans, and this difference across racial/ethnic groups persisted even after controlling for SES indicators. No differences were found in menarcheal age between African American and Whites. Perceptions of pubertal timing did not vary across racial/ethnic groups. Discussion focuses on issues of socioeconomic factors in studies examining pubertal maturation across racial/ethnic groups.