Externalizing problems among Kosovar adolescents: pubertal correlates in girls and boys

Figures & data

Table 1. Means and standard deviations of study variables for girls and boys.

	Mean	SD	Min; Max
Girls (N = 665)
Age	13.26	1.27	11; 16
Family SES (parental education)	3.59	1.68	1; 7
BMI	19.76	3.52	8.15; 40.97
Pubertal indices:
1. Growth spurt	2.76	0.70	1; 4
2. Body hair (underarm and pubic hair)	2.62	0.88	1; 4
3. Breast development	2.58	0.70	1; 4
4. Skin change	2.10	0.85	1; 4
5. Menarche (%yes)	71%		0; 1
Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) (alpha = 0.67)	2.63	0.62	0.80; 4
Pubertal timing:
1. Early (%)	17.8
2.On time (%)	68.4
3. Late (%)	13.8
Externalizing symptoms:
1. Delinquent behaviours (alpha = 0.69, 15 items)	0.17	0.18	0; 1.27
2. Aggressive behaviours (alpha = 0.82, 17 items)	0.38	0.29	0; 1.65
Boys (N = 677)
Age	13.19	1.31	11; 16
Family SES (parental education)	3.59	1.71	1; 7
BMI	20.74	4.56	9.23; 51.88
Pubertal indices:
1. Growth spurt	2.57	0.81	1; 4
2. Body hair (underarm and pubic hair)	2.57	0.76	1; 4
3. Facial hair	1.76	0.72	1; 4
4. Skin change	2.03	0.88	1; 4
5. Deepening of the voice	2.39	0.87	1; 4
Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) (alpha = 0.74)	2.26	0.57	1; 3.80
Pubertal timing:
1. Early (%)	16.1
2. On time (%)	65.2
3. Late (%)	18.6
Externalizing symptoms:
1. Delinquent behaviours (alpha = 0.69, 15 items)	0.26	0.21	0; 1.33
2. Aggressive behaviours (alpha = 0.78, 17 items)	0.36	0.27	0; 1.47

Alpha refers to Cronbach’s alpha.

Table 2. Correlations of study variables.

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
A. Girls
1. Age
2. Family SES	.04
3. BMI	.23***	.04
4. PDS	.60***	.11*	.28**
5. Pubertal Timing: Early	−.04	.07	−.01	−.20***
6. Delinquent behaviour	.22***	.08	.08*	.20**	−.01
7. Aggressive behaviour	.32***	.08*	.11**	.33***	.08	.70***
B. Boys
1. Age
2. Family SES	.06
3. BMI	.08*	.08
4. PDS	.46***	.09*	.17***
5. Pubertal Timing: Early	.02	−.01	.02	−21***
7. Delinquent behaviour	.30***	.04	.05	.21***	.00
8. Aggressive behaviour	.23***	.08	.04	.15***	−.02	.67***

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. Timing = pubertal timing. PDS = Pubertal Development Scale; 1 = early, 0 = on time/late.

Table 3. Regressions predicting externalizing problems.

	1. Delinquent behaviours			2. Aggressive behaviours
Predictors	β	SE	p	β	SE	p
A. Girls
Step1:
Family SES	0.04	0.01	.31	0.08	0.01	.054
Step 2:
BMI	0.05	0.00	.24	0.04	0.00	.36
Step 3: PDS	0.16	0.01	<.001	0.12	0.01	.004
R^2	0.030			0.022
B. Boys
Step1:
Family SES	0.04	0.01	.31	0.08	0.01	.054
Step 2:
BMI	0.05	0.01	.24	0.04	0.01	.36
Step 3:
PDS	0.20	0.00	<.001	0.14	0.00	<.001
R^2	0.043			0.027

PDS = Pubertal Development Scale.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author, on reasonable request.