AP32751

Science Summary

The article talks about a study that shows how early maturing in adolescent girls who experience their first menstrual cycle, also known as menarche (Boyd, 277), before the age of eleven can increase aggressive and delinquent behavior. The study was conducted by Sylvie Mrug Ph.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Psychology and colleagues interviewing more than 2,600 girls and their parents three times between the age of 11 and 16 to examine how early puberty onset and best friends’ problem behavior, like talking back to adults, lying, cheating, and not being nice, contribute to delinquency and different types of aggression over times (University of Alabama at Birmingham). The information collected showed that girls who had a best friend with more problem behaviors reported more delinquent and aggressive behavior at age 11, but these mostly affected girls by the age of 16 (University of Alabama at Birmingham). This information can be supported with information found in the textbook, “Such girls (early-developing girls) are also more likely to get into trouble in school and at home, more likely to become sexually active and be depressed than are girls who are average or late developers (Boyd, 270). In my opinion, I think this violates Barrett’s Law #3- Science requires common data. The data collected in this study is based on person experiences in the 2,600 girls and parents, so the data might be subjective.

References:
 * University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Problem-child Behavior Could Result from Early Puberty in Girls." //ScienceDaily//. ScienceDaily, Web. 23 July 2014.
 * Boyd, Denise Roberts., and Helen L. Bee. //Lifespan Development//. Sixth ed. Boston: Perason Allyn & Bacon, 2012. Print.

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