Study Links Mother-Daughter Bond, Puberty

(NewsCore) - Earlier puberty among American girls, according to new research published late Tuesday by Psychological Science, may be connected to their early relationship with their mother.

An international team of researchers found that baby girls who are not attached to their mothers at 15 months old were two-and-a-half times more likely to enter puberty early, between the ages of 10 and 11.

The girls in the study with poor maternal bonds entered puberty earlier regardless of when their mothers did. The age at which a mother enters puberty is typically a powerful predictor of when her daughter will begin to mature.

Poor attachment to parents in infancy is typically associated with mental health disorders later in life, including higher-than-normal rates of anxiety and depression. This is the first study that connects a child’s bond to early caregivers with early puberty.

The research team surmised that the so-called ’insecure attachment’ may kick in physiological changes that prepare the child to separate from her parents at an earlier age.

The age of puberty among American girls has been falling and, according to one study released in August, may be starting as early as seven among some girls. Other research connects early puberty to nutrition, the increasing obesity rate among children and some environmental factors.

Girls who reach puberty early are at higher risk of certain cancers and are likely to engage in sexual activity at younger ages, putting them at risk of both sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy.