Puberty Study
As of December 2020, we completed a follow-up research study with participants who were a part of the Puberty Study. The purpose of the follow-up were to examine how children's biological stress responses during puberty (measured in the previous study) are associated with later behavioral and mental health during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. Results from this study is currently being analyzed. Watch for more information coming out soon.
As of September 2018, the Puberty Study completed recruitment with 320 participants.
This is a study conducted by Dr. Megan Gunnar and her team at the Institute of Child Development - University of Minnesota, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Here, we are interested in changes in the body reflecting puberty and the body’s stress response systems.
We are especially interested in how adversity early in life and typical development might shape the body’s stress response systems. Puberty is a time of great change and we believe that it may be an opportunity to re-shape or “recalibrate” the body’s stress response systems. In this study, we examined how variations in early adversity (such as adoption from an institution) work with current life stress and puberty to shape cognitive and behavioral functioning. There were 3 time points over 2 full years, with two visits at each point.
Updates from the Puberty Study can be found here:
Puberty Study: Growth and Pubertal Development
2018 Puberty Study update: Evidence of recalibration and emotion regulation
2019 Puberty Study update: Cortisol Stress Response
2020 Puberty Study updates: DHEA hormones
Read published results from the Puberty Study:
Evidence shows that the body will re-set itself during puberty along with safe and supportive environments for adolescents who experienced early deprivation. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/48/23984
Examining DHEA hormones and understanding the mechanism behind the stress system re-setting itself during puberty. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104816