Family Functioning and Pubertal Maturation in Hispanic/Latino Children from the HCHS/SOL Youth
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Previous studies have examined the association between family dysfunction and pubertal timing in adolescent girls. However, the evidence is lacking on the role of family dysfunction during sensitive developmental periods in both boys and girls from racial and ethnic minority groups. This study aimed to determine the effect of family dysfunction on the timing of pubertal maturation among US Hispanic/Latino children and adolescents. Participants were 1466 youths (50% female; ages 8–16 years) from the Hispanic Community Children’s Health Study/Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth). Pubertal maturation was measured using self-administered Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) items for boys and girls. Family dysfunction included measures of single-parent family structure, unhealthy family functioning, low parental closeness, and neglectful parenting style. We used multivariable ordinal logistic and linear regression analyses to examine the associations between family dysfunction and pubertal maturation (individual and cumulative measures), with adjustment for childhood BMI and socioeconomic factors, design effects (strata and clustering), and sample weights. Multivariable models of individual PDS items showed that family dysfunction was negatively associated with growth in height (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.99) in girls; no associations were found in boys. In the assessment of cumulative PDS scores, family dysfunction was associated with a lower average pubertal maturation score (b = −0.63, 95% CI: −1.21, −0.05) in boys, while no associations were found in girls. Pubertal timing lies at the intersection of associations between childhood adversity and adult health and warrants further investigation to understand the factors affecting timing and differences across sex and sociocultural background.
Source: UNC Libraries
DOI: 10.17615/cy8v-by71
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Subfield: Reproductive Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: American Cancer Society, City University of Hong Kong, University of Alabama, Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development, Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, National Natural Science Foundation of China, VINNOVA, Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, National Research Foundation of Korea, University of Hong Kong, Petrobras, Narodowe Centrum Nauki, China Scholarship Council, Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, Chongqing Municipal Education Commission, Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, National Institutes of Health, Office of Science, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, China National Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists, National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Division of Chemistry, Fusion Oriented REsearch for disruptive Science and Technology, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
OpenAlex ID: W7203872052
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