711024

research-article2017
JBPXXX10.1177/0095798417711024Journal of Black PsychologyCarter et al.

Article
Journal of Black Psychology
2017, Vol. 43(8) 836­–862
Comparing Associations © The Author(s) 2017
Reprints and permissions:
Between Perceived sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0095798417711024
https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798417711024
Puberty, Same-Race journals.sagepub.com/home/jbp

Friends and Same-Race

Peers, and Psychosocial
Outcomes Among
African American and
Caribbean Black Girls

Rona Carter1, Seanna Leath1,

Sherreta T. Butler-Barnes2, Christy M. Bryd3,
Tabbye M. Chavous1, Cleopatra Howard Caldwell1,
and James S. Jackson1

Abstract
Despite indications that adolescent peer relations is a mediator of associations
between early pubertal timing and psychosocial problems, extant studies have
not explicitly examined race or ethnic-related variables that shape the peer
experiences of early developers. This study compared associations between
pubertal timing, same race-friends, same-race peers, and psychosocial
outcomes (school bonding, academic grades, externalizing behaviors, and
peer deviancy) among a nationally representative sample of African American
(n = 412) and Caribbean Black (n = 195) girls aged 13 to 17 years (Mage = 15
years). Results indicated that girls who perceived that their development was

1University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

2Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
3University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

Corresponding Author:
Rona Carter, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street,
2243 East Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Email: ronac@umich.edu
Carter et al. 837

early relative to their peers reported better academic grades. Having more
same-race friends were associated with school connectedness and fewer
externalizing behaviors among girls who perceived that their development
was early relative to their peers, whereas late-developing girls felt more
bonded to school and engaged in fewer externalizing behaviors when they
report fewer same-race friendships. These findings did not vary by ethnic
subgroup. Findings suggest race-related variables (in this case number of
same-race friends) provide important insight for understanding perceived
pubertal timing effects within this population.

Keywords
perceived pubertal timing, school bonding, academic grades, externalizing,
peer deviancy, Black adolescents girls

Puberty occurs, on average, about 2 years earlier in girls than boys (Hayward,
2003). Girls experience greater and faster increases in body fat; boys experi-
ence greater and faster increases in muscular growth (Rogol, Clark, &
Roemmich, 2000). It has been suggested that the weight gain associated with
puberty in girls, along with the fluid self-perceptions of body image and
emerging sexuality, elicit negative responses from adults and peers (Carter,
Silverman, & Jaccard, 2011; Deardorff et al., 2007; Natsuaki, Samuels, &
Leve, 2014). Boys, in comparison, generally experience more positive
responses from other individuals to their pubertal changes and become more
satisfied than girls as they progress through adolescence (e.g., Bearman,
Martinez, Stice, & Presnell, 2006; Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003). Given
the gender-specific stressors girls face relative to boys, puberty may be a
vulnerable time for the development of psychosocial problems. Indeed,
research findings are generally consistent in showing that girls’ pubertal tim-
ing, which refers to the age at which they develop in relation to peers, is
associated with a range of psychosocial problems including depression,
delinquency, and early sexual behavior (reviewed in Mendle, Turkheimer, &
Emery, 2007; Negriff & Susman, 2011).
Association with peers is a commonly assumed mediating mechanism
across several studies of pubertal timing effects. Early pubertal timing among
girls is associated with disapproval among peers, evidenced by increasing
peer victimization or negative social reputations among peers (e.g., Hamlat
et al., 2015; Nadeem, 2005; Reynolds & Juvonen, 2011; Teunissen et al.,
2011) and deviant peer affiliation (e.g., Ge, Brody, Conger, Simons, & Murry,
2002; Mrug et al., 2014; Negriff, Brensilver, & Trickett, 2015). These
838 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

findings highlight the role of the social context in the development of early
developing girls’ problem behaviors. Much of the extant research however,
have not considered race- or ethnic-related variables that shape the peer expe-
riences of early developers. This is important given membership in a racial or
ethnic group affects the ways in which peers relate to one another (reviewed
in Graham, Taylor, & Ho, 2009). In this study, we examine the role of same-
race friends and same-race peers in the association between pubertal timing
and psychosocial outcomes (academic grades, peer deviancy, externalizing
behaviors, school bonding), using a nationally representative sample of
African American and Caribbean Black girls.

Guiding Theoretical Frameworks

Theoretical support for examining the role of same-race friends and peers in
the association between pubertal timing and psychosocial problems is drawn
from the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST;
Spencer, 2006; Spencer, Dupree, & Hartmann, 1997). This theory considers
the unique and cumulative individual-context interactions that stem from
being a member of a social group such as dealing with disseminated stereo-
types (e.g., body type, skin color, and racial categorization) and stereotypic
definitions of physical attractiveness. PVEST also argues that emergent iden-
tities arise out of coping with stressors linked to social group membership as
individuals appraise their role in specific individual-context situations
(Spencer, 2006). These individual-context interactions are hypothesized to
shape individual experiences and influence individual behaviors over time.
This is particularly relevant for racially and ethnically diverse youth given
the significance of self-identification, exploration, and learning about social
group norms and behaviors during adolescence (Quintana, 2007).
Theoretical support is also drawn from the contextual amplification
hypothesis (reviewed in Ge & Natsuaki, 2009), a theory that attempts to
explain the effects of pubertal timing on psychosocial outcomes. This theory
suggests that contextual conditions (e.g., family conflict, neighborhood dis-
order, interpersonal challenges, and disapproval among peers) can attenuate
or intensify the effects of puberty on psychosocial outcomes. Adaptation is
expected to be difficult because early puberty combined with adverse contex-
tual conditions can overtax the undeveloped coping resources of early devel-
opers. Early puberty may be particularly detrimental for adolescents in
stressful social environments, such as those living in disadvantaged neigh-
borhoods or experiencing peer victimization. For early developing girls in
supportive environments, however, the chances of problems are low.
Carter et al. 839

Contextual experiences related to being a member of a racial or ethnic

group may also interact with pubertal development to mitigate the risk for
negative adjustment outcomes. These experiences stem from increased expo-
sure to adults and peers of differing backgrounds during this developmental
period (Quintana, 2007), specific concerns related to different pubertal pro-
cesses (e.g., menarche, breasts development; Carter, Jaccard, Silverman, &
Pina, 2009), and the emerging salience of racial and ethnic identity in pro-
cesses of self-understanding (Townsend, 2002; Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014).
Through processes involving social comparison and exposure to group
norms, contextual experiences linked to social group membership likely
influence the peer experiences of Black early developing girls and provide
critical information for how they adapt to pubertal changes.

Perceptions of Pubertal Timing

Existing research on associations between early pubertal timing and peer
relations among girls have either used menarche (first menstruation) or com-
bined multiple indicators of development (e.g., menarche, development of
breasts, and changes in height) into a single index of pubertal development
(e.g., Hamlat et al., 2015; Nadeem, 2005; Reynolds & Juvonen, 2011;
Teunissen et al., 2011). Distinct from these measures of pubertal timing is a
girl’s perceptions of her pubertal timing relative to her peer group. Perceived
relative pubertal timing indexes whether girls see themselves as being non-
normative in one direction (early) or the other (late) relative to their peers,
which can affect girls’ images of themselves and in turn, their adjustment.
More importantly, the perceived pubertal timing measure reflects a peer com-
parison process that menarche and other measures of puberty do not.
When adolescents are asked to compare their development “to other girls
or boys your age,” their reference group may be limited to the peers who are
visible to them, particularly, those peers with whom they frequently interact.
If a peer contrast process is unfolding it would be important to distinguish
between friends and peers. This distinguish is important because adolescents
often select friends with similar traits such as racial group membership so
that friends become a support system that perpetuates existing adolescent
attitudes (Giordano, 2003), whereas peers, who are not friends, often do not
share similar traits but can provide unsolicited information (e.g., teasing) to
the adolescent on how well they measure up to other peers on a given factor
such as body ideal (Giordano, 2003; Nichter, 2009). Peers who are not
friends, therefore, may represent a harsher context of judgment, which may
be more influential to girls’ accommodation to early puberty than their expe-
riences in the more supportive context of friends.
840 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

Pubertal Timing and School-Related Factors

Schools draw together developmentally similar adolescents for large amounts
of time and as such provide a social context that is ripe for social comparison.
Yet research is scant on associations between school-related outcomes and
pubertal timing (Caspi, Lynam, Moffitt, & Silva, 1993; Ge, Conger, & Elder,
1996; Graber, Lewinsohn, Seeley, & Brooks-Gunn, 1997; Simmons & Blyth,
1987; Stattin & Magnusson, 1990). Early research has demonstrated that
early developing White girls who attend same-sex schools engaged in less
problem behavior than early developing White girls who attend mixed-sex
schools (Caspi et al., 1993; Ge et al., 1996). White early developers are also
more likely to report getting in trouble at school, absenteeism, and truancy
(Graber et al., 1997; Simmons & Blyth, 1987; Stattin & Magnusson, 1990).
These findings may be an artifact of the link between early puberty and exter-
nalizing behavior.
Much less is known about puberty and school-related outcomes among
racially and ethnically diverse samples (Morales-Chicas & Graham, 2015).
In a more recent study, Morales-Chicas and Graham (2015) demonstrated
that Latinas who had their first menstrual period during sixth grade (on-time
developers) in schools with fewer Latinas felt more school connectedness
than early developers (started menarche before sixth grade) or later develop-
ers (had not started by the end of sixth grade) in schools with fewer Latinas.
On the other hand, in schools with many Latinas, on-time developers reported
less connectedness than early developers and later developers (Morales-
Chicas & Graham, 2015). Thus, the effect of puberty on school outcomes, or
at least some aspects of it, appears to be race/ethnic specific.

Peers and School-Related Factors

Past research has demonstrated the protective function of same-race/ethnic
peers to adolescent psychosocial outcomes such as higher grades and fewer
behavioral problems. For example, across race and ethnic groups, adoles-
cents feel stronger senses of connection to and belongingness in their schools
as the proportion of their fellow students with the same race and ethnicity
increases (e.g., Benner & Crosnoe, 2011; Benner & Graham, 2009; Benner &
Wang, 2016; Postmes & Branscombe, 2002; Vaquera, 2009). Relatedly,
racially and ethnically diverse students tend to look better on a range of indi-
cators of socioemotional adjustment in school (e.g., positive attitudes about
school, disciplinary problems) when attending more segregated schools with
racially and ethnically diverse students (reviewed in Graham et al., 2009).
Such patterns are important given consistent evidence that socioemotional
Carter et al. 841

adjustment in school in general and feelings of school belonging in particular

tend to promote well-being across developmental domains, including aca-
demic achievement. Students who have more same race/ethnic peers may
find it easier to forge relationships with other students, which in turn may
facilitate better adaptation to school. Thus, the racial/ethnic composition of
social contexts, such as schools, is a basic dimension on which students base
their sense of belonging in that context.

The Current Study

Drawing from PVEST (Spencer, 2006; Spencer et al., 1997) and the contex-
tual amplification hypothesis (reviewed in Ge & Natsuaki, 2009), the current
study examined associations between perceived pubertal timing relative to
peers and psychosocial outcomes (school bonding, academic grades, exter-
nalizing behaviors, and peer deviancy) using a nationally representative sam-
ple of African American and Caribbean Black girls. Given racial group
membership may influence peer selection and in turn, girls’ perceptions of
pubertal timing relative to peers, we examined whether racially similar
friends (i.e., number of same-race friends) and racially similar peers (i.e.,
number of Black students in class) would moderate these associations.
The final innovation of the current study was to test whether associations
between perceived pubertal timing relative to peers, racially similar friends
(i.e., number of same-race friends), racially similar peers (i.e., number of
Black students in class), school bonding, peer deviancy, externalizing behav-
iors, and academic grades were similar for African American and Caribbean
Black girls. Research is limited on ethnic subgroup differences within the
Black population that may influence early pubertal timing effects. The little
research that does exit has found significant differences on puberty-related
effects between African American and Caribbean Black girls, with early per-
ceived pubertal timing predicting externalizing behaviors only among
Caribbean Blacks (Carter, Caldwell, Matusko, Antonucci, & Jackson, 2011).
The hypothesized dynamics of the current study are captured in the path
diagram in Figure 1. Consistent with prior research, we expected girls who
perceived their development to be early relative to their peers to feel less
attached to their school (see Path a), poorer academic grades (see Path b),
more externalizing behaviors (see Path c), and to have more deviant peers
(see Path d). We also expected same-race friends and peers to moderate these
associations (see Paths e-h). Such that, having racially similar friends will
buffer these associations and having racially similar peers will exacerbate
these associations. Last, we expected the hypothesized associations to be
stronger for Caribbean Blacks relative to African Americans.
842 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

Figure 1.  Conceptual model.

Method
Data Set
The analysis used data from the National Survey of American Life Adolescent
sample (NSAL-A). The NSAL-A is a supplemental sample of 1,170 adoles-
cents (52% female) who were attached to the adult households in the NSAL
parent study. The NSAL parent study was part of the National Institute of
Mental Health Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys initiative
that included three nationally representative surveys: the NSAL, the National
Comorbidity Survey Replication, and the National Latino and Asian American
Study (Colpe, Merikangas, Cuthbert, & Bourdon, 2004). The NSAL parent
study provides a comprehensive study of Black Americans with an emphasis
on mental disorders, stressors, and risk/resilient factors (Jackson et al., 2004).
It consists of a nationally representative household survey of 3,570 African
Americans and 1,621 Blacks of Caribbean descent aged 18 years and older
(Jackson et al., 2004).
The NSAL-A employed a stratified and clustered sample design. Sampling
weights were created to adjust for variation in probabilities of selection
within households, nonresponse rates for households, and nonresponse rates
Carter et al. 843

Table 1.  Social and Demographic Information.

Caribbean Blacks African Americans

(n = 195), M (SE) (n = 412), M (SE) Statistics
Age at time of 15.54 (0.17) 14.93 (0.07) F = 10.59*
interview (years)
Last grade 10.13 (0.19) 9.51 (0.08) F = 8.54*
completed
Maternal education 12.69 (0.51) 12.40 (0.11) F = 0.31
(years)
Family income ($) 37842.62 (3879.13) 38350.71 (2430.31) F = 0.01

Note: Data have been weighted to be nationally representative. Standard errors have been
adjusted for sampling stratification, clustering, and weighting of the data.
*p < .05.

for individuals. The weighted data were post-stratified to national population

distributions for sex (males and females) and age (13, 14, 15, 16, and 17
years) subgroups among Black youth.
It should be noted that African American is used in the both the NSAL and
NSAL-A to describe people who self-identified as Black but did not identify
ancestral ties to the Caribbean. Caribbean Blacks are people who self-identi-
fied as Black and indicated that they were from a country included on a list of
Caribbean area countries presented by the interviewers or specified that at
least one of their parents or grandparents was born in a Caribbean area
country.

Participants
The present study used data from only the female adolescents in the NSAL-A
(N = 607). The sample consists of 412 African American and 195 Caribbean
Black girls ages 13 to 17 years (M = 15 years; SD = 1.40). Ninety-seven percent
of the sample was enrolled in school. The median education level of the sam-
ple’s mothers was 12th grade (SD = 2.22). The mean family income was
approximately $38,000 (SD = 39936.55). Contingency table and analysis of
variance were performed to examine potential differences between African
American and Caribbean Black girls on social and demographic information
provided by the adolescent and the adult respondent for the household in which
the adolescent lived for the year prior to the adult interview; see Table 1.
Caribbean Black girls were significantly older than African American girls.
The last grade completed for Caribbean Black girls was significantly higher
than the last grade completed for African American girls. Other significant
844 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

findings included Caribbean Black girls being more likely to have more parents
born outside of the United States (77%) compared with African American girls
(3%). No other statistically significant differences were found on the social and
demographic information. Given adolescent age and grade were highly corre-
lated (r = .75), we included only adolescent age as a covariate in our study
analyses in addition to parent’s nativity.

Procedure
The NSAL parent and adolescent study received institutional review board
approval from the University of Michigan and was administered by the staff
of the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan. Data were col-
lected from February 2001 to June 2003. Every household that included an
adult participant in the NSAL was screened for an eligible adolescent living
in the household, and adolescents were selected using a random selection
procedure. If more than one adolescent was eligible for the study, up to two
adolescents were selected based on the sex of the first selected adolescent to
prevent oversampling of one sex. Two youth were only selected if there was
an eligible male and female adolescent in the household. If multiple youth
were eligible per household, youth were randomly selected based on a sam-
pling selection table. After weighting the data to correct for multiple youth
per household, this sampling strategy resulted in a nationally representative
sample of African American and Caribbean Black adolescents for the
NSAL-A.
Before the interview, informed consent was obtained from the adoles-
cent’s legal guardian and assent was obtained from the adolescent. Most of
the adolescent interviews were conducted face-to-face using a computer-
assisted instrument in their homes, and approximately 18% were conducted
either entirely or partially by telephone. The measures were given in the same
order for all participants, and interviews were conducted privately with no
family members present, using a computer-assisted interviewing system to
afford the adolescents as much privacy as possible.
The interviewers were trained Survey Research Operations (SRO) staff at
the Survey Research Center, the Institute for Social Research at the University
of Michigan; four interviewer training sessions were held over the 14-month
course of the study from January 2001 to March 2002. The interviewers were
African American and Caribbean Blacks from local communities who would
better understand the norms and behaviors within the sampled neighborhoods
(for full review of interviewer training methods; see Hastings, Kromei, &
Caldwell, 2012). Each training session lasted 2 weeks and followed a lecture
format with small practice groups (i.e., round robins) to prepare interviewers
Carter et al. 845

to build rapport with study participants and learn ways to incorporate cultural
styles of interactive participation. The community-based interviewers were
race-matched to participants in order to address possible variations in inter-
view quality due to social class, geographical, and cultural differences
(Jackson et al., 2004).
The African American adolescent interviews averaged 1 hour 40 minutes
in length, and Caribbean Black adolescent interviews averaged 1 hour 50
minutes. Respondents were paid $50 for their participation in the study; the
overall response rate was 80.6% (80.4% for African Americans and 83.5%
for Caribbean Blacks).

Measures
Perceived Pubertal Timing.  We assessed perceived pubertal timing (overall)
using one item that asked, “How advanced would you say your physical
development is compared to other girls your age?” The response scale ranged
from 1 (I look younger than most) to 5 (I look older than most). Higher num-
bers indicated greater perception that one’s pubertal development was earlier
relative to same sex and same age peers. Studies have demonstrated reason-
able confidence in the viability of using a one-item variable to measure
youths’ perceptions of their pubertal timing relative to peers (Dubas, Graber,
& Petersen, 1991; Graber et al., 1997). Dubas et al. (1991), for example,
demonstrated that feelings about puberty were related to perceived pubertal
timing relative to peers but not to an objective measure of pubertal timing (in
this case, age at peak height velocity). Moreover, the perceived pubertal tim-
ing item is a well-established and effective method for assessing perceptions
of the timing of pubertal changes compared with peers (Coleman & Cole-
man, 2002; Dubas et al., 1991; Negriff & Susman, 2011).

School Bonding. Nine items were adapted from a scale developed by Simons,

Whitbeck, Conger, and Conger (1991) to assess the extent to which adolescents
felt attached to their school. Items included statements, such as “Most of my
teachers treat me fairly” and “Getting good grades is important to me.” Responses
were measured on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (very true) to 4 (not at all true).
Positively worded items were reverse scored so that higher scores represent
greater bonding to school. The items were summed and then averaged to generate
a composite score. In the present sample, the coefficient alpha (weighted) for
African American and Caribbean Black girls were .71 and .69, respectively.

Racial Composition of Peers. Adolescents reported the number of Blacks in

class using one item that asked “Think about the other students in most of
846 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

your classes. Would you say that almost all, very many, some, a few, or (none/
no other) are Black/African American?” The response scale ranged from 1
(none) to 5 (all), with higher numbers indicating more Black students in one’s
class. Adolescents reported the number of their friends who are in their race
group using one item that asked, “How many of your friends are of your same
racial group?” The response scale ranged from 1 (all) to 5 (none), with lower
numbers indicating more Black friends. The viability of using a one-item
variable to measure racial composition of friends and peers is supported by
past research (Benner & Wang, 2016; Morales-Chicas & Graham, 2015; Spi-
vak, White, Juvonen, & Graham, 2015).

Peer Deviancy.  Adolescents were asked a series of questions about the extent
to which their friends engaged in 11 delinquent-related behaviors such as
abusing substances, carrying weapons, or stealing others’ property from an
adapted version of Loeber, Farrington, Stouthamer-Loeber, and Van Kam-
men (1998) measure of peer delinquency. Adolescents responded either 1
(some/all) or 0 (none). The items were summed to generate a count of peers
engaged in deviant behavior. In the present sample, the coefficient alpha
(weighted) for African American and Caribbean Black girls were .74 and .72,
respectively.

Academic Grades.  Academic grades were assessed using a single item by ask-
ing the adolescent about the kind of grades they usually receive: mostly As,
mostly Bs, mostly Cs, mostly Ds, or mostly failing grades. The response
scale ranged from 1 (mostly Fs) to 5 (mostly As). A higher score represents
better grades in school. All school integration indicators were derived from
the National Comorbidity Survey: Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A; Kessler,
2011). Although self-reports may exhibit some error in reporting, a substan-
tial body of past research suggests that is a relatively accurate measure of
students’ official grades (Crockett, Schulenberg, & Petersen, 1987; Kuncel,
Credé, & Thomas, 2005; Schwartz & Beaver, 2015). As reported in a recent
meta-analysis by Kuncel et al. (2005), the correlation between self-report and
official academic grades ranges between .50 and .70.

Externalizing Behaviors.  The externalizing behavior construct was measured

using self-reported symptoms of oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) as
defined in a modified adaptation of the World Health Organization Compos-
ite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI; Kessler et al., 1998). The ODD
section includes 11 symptoms indicating how often during the preceding
year the adolescent displayed negativistic, hostile, and defiant behaviors
such as arguing with adults, defying or refusing to comply with rules, often
Carter et al. 847

being angry and resentful, and deliberately annoying others. Adolescents

responded either Yes (1) or No (0). The items were summed to construct a
scale of externalizing behaviors which ranged from 0 to 11, with scores 3 or
more indicating high involvement in externalizing behaviors. Previous stud-
ies have found the CIDI to have good psychometric properties with youths
as young as 15 years old (Andrews & Peters, 1998). The CIDI was modified
from the original version to accommodate youths aged 13 years or older for
the NSAL (Kessler et al., 2009). In the present sample, the coefficient alpha
(weighted) for African American and Caribbean Black girls were .81 and
.67, respectively.

Control Variables
Two variables were used as covariates in the study analyses: adolescents’ age
in years and parents’ nativity status. Adolescents were asked their age at the
time of the interview in years. Parents’ nativity status was assessed by the
following: 1 = born in the United States and 0 = born outside of the United
States.

Data Analysis Plan

We conducted weighted analyses using Mplus 6.1 (Muthén & Muthén, 2010).
To calculate the complex design-based estimates of variance, we employed
the robust maximum likelihood estimator, to make the chi-square test and
standard errors robust to non-normality (Yuan & Bentler, 1998), using Full-
Information Maximum Likelihood estimation to account for missing data.
There were small amounts of missing data, occurring sporadically and never
exceeding more than 4% of the cases for all key study variables. Path analysis
was used to examine the hypothesized associations between perceived puber-
tal timing relative to peers, same-race peers (number of Blacks in class),
same-race friends (number of Black friends), school bonding, peer deviancy,
externalizing behaviors, and academic grades. Perceived pubertal timing
relative to peers, racial composition of peers, and academic grades were rep-
resented in the models using the item score. Peer deviancy was represented in
the model as count data indicating number of peers engaged in deviant behav-
ior. Single indicators were used for school bonding and externalizing behav-
iors to represent the underlying constructs, with error terms for the observed
variables set to 1 minus the reliability for that measure to avoid the untenable
assumption that the observed variables are measured without error (Bollen &
Long, 1993; Cole & Preacher, 2014). This involved constraining the error/
unique variances for each measure to predetermined values corresponding to
848 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

a priori determined levels of reliability (Bollen & Long, 1993; Cole &
Preacher, 2014). For school bonding, the reliability level was set at .71. For
externalizing behavior, the reliability level was set at .80. The estimates for
both school bonding and externalizing behaviors were based on previous
research using NSAL-A data (Carter, Caldwell, et al., 2011; Rose, Joe,
Shields, & Caldwell, 2014).
All path models included adolescent age in years and parents’ nativity
status as covariates for all endogenous variables. Correlated errors between
endogenous variables were permitted, correlated errors between adolescent
age and perceived pubertal timing relative to peers, and correlated error
between adolescent age and parents’ nativity status were permitted. The fit of
the data for all path models was evaluated using multiple indicators of model
fit: chi-square, the comparative fit index (CFI), the root mean squared error
of approximation (RMSEA), and the standardized root mean square residual
(SRMR). Hu and Bentler (1999) suggest CFI values close to 0.95 or greater,
RMSEA values close to 0.08 or below, and SRMR values close to 0.08 or
lower represent acceptable model fit. More focused tests of fit were also used
to examine model fit (modification indices and standardized residuals testing
the difference between predicted and observed covariances in each cell).
Prior to the study analyses, the data for the continuous variables were
assessed using model-based outlier analysis with a limited information
approach in which the endogenous variables were regressed onto relevant
predictors and then standardized dfbetas were examined for each individual.
An outlier was defined as any individual with an absolute standardized dfbeta
greater than 1 for a given coefficient. No outliers were found based on this
analysis. Examination of univariate indices of skewness and kurtosis revealed
no absolute skewness or kurtosis values greater than 1.08.
We conducted the analyses in three stages. The first stage involved descrip-
tive analyses of differences for each of the study variables as a function of
Black subgroup. This analysis was intended to isolate subgroup differences
in the core variables being studied. The second stage examined the hypothe-
sized associations depicted in Figure 1 using the total sample. The analysis
for this stage involved mean centering the perceived pubertal timing relative
to peers and racial composition of peer scores in the path model to avoid
problems with multicollinearity, and to make the coefficients more interpre-
table (Jaccard, Wan, & Turrisi, 1990). Two product terms were included in
the model: perceived pubertal timing × number of Blacks in class and per-
ceived pubertal timing × number of Black friends.
The final stage of the analysis tested if the hypothesized relationships
between perceived pubertal timing relative to peers, racial composition of
peers, school bonding, peer deviancy, externalizing behaviors, and academic
Carter et al. 849

grades varied as a function of Black subgroup. The analysis for this stage
involved using a multigroup solution strategy, with African American and
Caribbean Black adolescent girls representing the two groups. First, the path
model was simultaneously fit to the two groups to establish a common model
form in the groups with no equality constraints across groups (unconstrained
model). Then, a model in which the regression weights in the model were
constrained (constrained model) to be equal across the groups was run. Last,
a model in which the regression weights and covariances were constrained to
be equal across the groups was run (fully constrained model). Comparisons
of the nested models were performed using a scaled difference χ2 test (Satorra
& Bentler, 2001). A significant scaled difference χ2 would indicate that the
models varied as a function of girl’s ethnic subgroup membership. To deter-
mine which parameters are significantly different between African American
and Caribbean Black adolescent girls, each regression path in turn is con-
strained to be equal across groups. The difference in fit between the model in
which all the parameters were freely estimated (unconstrained model) and
the one in which one of the regression paths was restricted shows whether
that specific path is moderated by girl’s ethnic subgroup membership.

Results
Descriptive Results
Preliminary results using descriptive statistics such as means, standard devi-
ations, and bivariate correlations for each of the study variables can be found
in Tables 2 and 3. Statistically significant differences were found for number
of Black friends and academic grades (p < .05). Caribbean Blacks reported
more Black friends (Cohen’s d = .36) and better academic grades (Cohen’s
d = .58) than African Americans.

Testing for Direct and Moderated Relations

The fit for the model was good (χ2[6] = 7.59, p = .27; CFI = .99; RMSEA =
.02 90% CI: .01, .06; SRMR = .01).

School Bonding.  Perceived pubertal timing (β = −.01, p = .12), same-race

peers (β = −.01, p = .63), and same-race friends (β = .02, p = .63) were not
directly associated with school bonding. However, evidence for a signifi-
cant interaction was observed between perceived pubertal timing relative to
peers and same-race friends (β = −.06, p < .007); see Figure 2. Simple
slopes for the association between same-race friends and school bonding
850 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

Table 2.  Means and Standard Errors of Study Variables.

Caribbean Blacks African Americans

(n = 195), M (SE) (n = 412), M (SE) Statistics
Perceived pubertal timing 3.19 (0.17) 2.99 (0.05) F = 1.15
School bonding 3.42 (0.07) 3.45 (0.02) F = 0.26
# of Blacks in classes 3.58 (0.17) 3.80 (0.05) F = 1.37
# of Black friends 2.45 (0.14) 2.11 (0.04) F = 4.77*
Peer deviancy 1.45 (0.31) 1.17 (0.08) F = 0.87
Externalizing behaviors 3.23 (0.26) 2.69 (0.23) F = 0.59
Academic grades 4.11 (0.12) 3.87 (0.03) F = 3.97*

Note: Data have been weighted to be nationally representative. Standard errors have been
adjusted for sampling stratification, clustering, and weighting of the data.
*p < .05.

Table 3.  Bivariate Correlations for African American and Caribbean Black Girls.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Perceived pubertal — −.11* −.05 .08 −.01 .12 .10

timing
2. School bonding −16* — .02 −.04 −.39** −.24 23**
3. # of Blacks in classes −11 .11 — −.17** −.04 −.07 .06
4. # of Black friends .10 −.06 −.30** — .02 −.02 .07
5.  Peer deviancy .10 −.35** −.06 –.03 — .28** −.12*
6. Externalizing behaviors .23** −.24** .02 −.12 .14 — −.12*
7. Academic grades −08 .40** −.07 .03 −.27** –.18* —

Note: Coefficients above the diagonal are for African Americans and those below the diagonal are for
Caribbean Blacks.
*p < .05. **p < .01.

were tested at one standard deviation above and below the mean of pubertal
timing. Results revealed that having more same-race friends were associ-
ated with high school connectedness among girls who perceived that their
development was early relative to their peers. Moreover, late-developing
girls feel a stronger sense of school bonding when they report fewer same-
race friendships.

Academic Grades.  Same-race peers (β = .07, p = .61) and same-race friends

(β = .06, p = .23) were not directly associated with school bonding. However,
evidence for a significant association was observed between perceived puber-
tal timing and academic grades (β = .09, p = .04), such that girls who
Carter et al. 851

Figure 2.  Interaction between same-race friends and perceived pubertal timing
relative to peers.

perceived that their development was early relative to their peers reported
better academic grades. No significant interactions were observed.

Externalizing Behaviors.  Perceived pubertal timing (β = .01, p = .77), same-

race peers (β = −.09, p = .12), and same-race friends (β = −.03, p = .64) were
not directly associated with externalizing behaviors. However, evidence for a
significant interaction was observed between perceived pubertal timing rela-
tive to peers and same-race friends (β = .09, p < .03); see Figures 3. Simple
slopes for the association between same-race friends, same-race peers, and
perceived pubertal timing were tested at one standard deviation above and
below the mean of pubertal timing. Results revealed that having more same-
race friends were associated with fewer externalizing behaviors among girls
who perceived that their development was early relative to their peers.

Peer Deviancy.  Perceived pubertal timing (β = −.01, p = .88), same-race peers (β =

−.01, p = .12), and same-race friends (β = .02, p = .76) were not directly associated
with peer deviancy. Moreover, no significant interactions were observed.

Testing for Invariance

As shown in Table 4, the Δχ2 difference tests were statistically nonsignificant.
This result lead us to conclude that the associations between perceived
852 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

Figure 3.  Interaction between same-race friends and perceived pubertal timing
relative to peers.

Table 4.  Fit Statistics and Comparisons of Nested Models.

RMSEA Satorra-Bentler
Model χ2 df CFI (90% CI) SRMR Scaled Δχ2 (Δdf)
1. Unconstrained Model was just identified —
2. Constrained 26.10 20 .95 .03 (.01, .06) .03 —
  Model 1 vs. Model 2 26.10 (20)
3. Fully constrained 47.35 35 .90 .04 (.01, .06) .04 —
  Model 2 vs. Model 3 21.21 (15)

Note: CFI = comparative fit index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation;
CI =confidence interval.

pubertal timing relative to peers, racially similar friends, racially similar

peers, school bonding, peer deviancy, externalizing behaviors, and academic
grades are similar for African American and Caribbean Black girls

Discussion
Despite indications that pubertal timing can influence adolescent peer rela-
tions, extant studies have not explicitly examined race or ethnic-related vari-
ables that shape the peer experiences of early developers. Addressing this
gap, we drew on the NSAL-A, which provided the opportunity to compare
Carter et al. 853

associations between perceived pubertal timing relative to peers, racially

similar friends, racially similar peers, and psychosocial outcomes (academic
grades, peer deviancy, externalizing behaviors, school bonding) using a
nationally representative sample of African American and Caribbean Black
girls. We sought to uncover the ways in which Black ethnic subgroup mem-
bership and racial composition of one’s peer group function synergistically to
inform psychosocial outcomes within this population.
We found that perceived pubertal timing relative to peers was not
directly related to peer deviancy, school bonding, and externalizing behav-
iors. However, girls who perceived that their development was early rela-
tive to peers and had more racially similar friends, felt more connected to
school, and engaged in fewer externalizing behaviors. This pattern did not
vary among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. Thus, it appears
that Black girls who perceived that their development was more advanced
relative to their peers, a group typically considered at risk for negative
outcomes, experienced more positive adjustment if they had more racially
similar friends. These findings are consistent with numerous studies dem-
onstrating a protective role of same-race/ethnic peers (e.g., Benner &
Graham, 2009; Benner & Wang, 2016; Postmes & Branscombe, 2002;
Vaquera, 2009). We add to this literature by highlighting the importance of
distinguishing between friends and peers. In our study racially similar
friends, not peers buffered the effects of early puberty on school bonding
and externalizing behaviors.
Comparisons with similar others (in this case, same-race friends) appear
to be a more salient target for comparison than racially similar peers. Theory
suggest individuals are motivated to engage in accurate self-assessments to
better themselves (Festinger, 1954). Moreover, when individuals are
extremely familiar with the attribute under evaluation, as is likely the case
with girls and puberty, similarity is a strong driving force between individu-
als and their targets of comparison (Wheeler et al., 1969). As a result, having
racially similar friends enables a more accurate self-evaluation of one’s
pubertal development than dissimilar (in this case, racially similar peers).
These friendships seem to interact with Black girls’ perceptions of pubertal
timing in ways that help them reduce the risk associated with pubertal
changes. Alternative explanations are also likely (Barr & Neville, 2014).
Same-race friendships, for example, may protect early developing Black girls
from appearance-related teasing and rumors; resulting in a stronger bond to
school and fewer externalizing behaviors. More research is needed to include
more refined friendship measures. Such measure may help clarify how
racially similar friends interact with Black girls’ perceptions of pubertal tim-
ing to influence their psychosocial outcomes.
854 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

We also found that late-developing Black girls felt more bonded to school
and engaged in fewer externalizing behaviors when they reported fewer
same-race friendships. Just as the underweight Latina girls felt a stronger
sense of school connectedness in schools with fewer Latinas (Morales-Chicas
& Graham, 2015), we too see that late-developing Black girls feel a stronger
sense of school bonding when they report fewer same-race friendships. If
these girls have more interracial friendships, they may be friends with girls
who are also late-developers or have a similar body type, thus allowing them
to fit in rather than stand out. Theory would suggest late developing Black
girls in this study have more diverse motivations for choosing targets for
social comparison (Festinger, 1954).
Past research has shown that girls use social comparison to determine
what is culturally valued and socially rewarded within their school (Jones,
2001). Sharing a school often means sharing a culture and an identity for its
students (Akerlof & Kranton, 2002). Given that sharing a social space indi-
cates exposure to others and their behaviors, values, and ideals, late develop-
ing Black girls may experience pressure to conform to all schoolmates
regardless of their racial group membership. This process of social compari-
son—to all students in the school—does not require that Black girls discrimi-
nate among peers within the school. This argument rests on the assumption
that adolescent friendships are primarily school-based, an important topic for
future research consideration.
Similar to early research on puberty and school-related outcomes, we also
found direct associations between early pubertal timing and academic grades
(Dubas et al., 1991; Graber et al., 1997; Stattin & Magnusson, 1990). Black
girls who perceived that their development was early relative to their peers
reported better academic grades than girls who perceived that their develop-
ment was either on-time or late. We think that one reason for this finding
stems from contextual circumstances in the school. Perceived pubertal timing
differences in academic performance may in part be explained by differences
in the degree to which members of different racial/ethnic groups feel accepted,
respected, and supported by peers and teachers at school. More research is
needed to include additional school-related variables beyond the peer group
to understand better pubertal timing effects on school outcomes.
It is important to note that Black ethnic subgroup membership did not
significantly moderate the predictive effects of perceived pubertal timing
relative to peers and racially similar friends and racially similar peers on
girls’ psychosocial outcomes (academic grades, peer deviancy, externalizing
behaviors, and school bonding). The structural relations between these vari-
ables in the present study appear to be similar for African American and
Caribbean Black girls. This finding was unexpected given that past research
Carter et al. 855

has found significant differences on puberty-related effects between African

American and Caribbean Black girls, with early perceived pubertal timing
predicting externalizing behaviors only among Caribbean Blacks (Carter,
Caldwell, et al., 2011). Continuing to develop an understanding of the influ-
ences of perceived pubertal timing within the Black population is needed.
Future research, for example, may want to expand additional race and ethnic-
related variables to isolate and directly measure the underlying mechanisms
that increase (or decrease) the risks associated with pubertal timing. For
example, Caribbean Black adolescents who live in ethnic enclaves, where the
culture of origin predominates, may be more influenced by same-race/ethnic
peers and not similar pubertal status because these peers provide identity
enhancement and increased comfort with one’s identity which, in turn, may
lead to a greater sense of belonging to the school community.
Our findings offer support for PVEST (Spencer, 2006; Spencer et al.,
1997) and the contextual amplification hypothesis (reviewed in Ge &
Natsuaki, 2009), when contextual conditions related to being a member of a
racial or ethnic group are considered. Consistent with our expectations,
racially similar friends (i.e., number of friends in same race group) moder-
ated associations between perceived pubertal timing, school bonding, and
externalizing behaviors. Given that Black girls tend to go through the puber-
tal transition earlier than girls from other racial/ethnic groups (Herman-
Giddens et al., 1997), it may be possible that early pubertal timing is not a
risk factor for poor outcomes when these girls are surrounded by friends of
similar pubertal timing, race or both, providing the opportunity to form same-
race friendships for support. This line reasoning stems from research that
demonstrated African American students experience decreases in feelings of
belonging when they transition from middle schools to high schools, where
there are fewer members of their racial group (Benner & Graham, 2007). This
suggests that there must be a critical mass of same-race peers in any school
context to ease the challenges of findings one’s niche and fitting in. Our line
of reasoning is also consistent with the finding from Morales-Chicas and
Graham (2015), in that Latina girls’ sense of school connectedness was tied
to the extent to which girls perceived themselves to fit in physically with
friends from their ethnic group.

Limitations
Future research on this topic could build on the present study by addressing
several limitations. First, the study relied primarily on self-reports. Although
previous research (Kuncel et al., 2005; Schwartz & Beaver, 2015) suggests
that adolescents are fairly objective in reporting their grades and GPA (i.e.,
856 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

inflating approximately one-half letter grade), future studies should include a

broader source assessment approach than available in this study. Moreover,
perceived pubertal timing was represented in the models by a single item.
The use of single items can introduce bias in parameter estimates due to mea-
surement error. If a construct is not adequately represented by a measure,
then that construct may not be controlled fully in the statistical analyses.
Second, the present study was cross-sectional and causal conclusions are not
possible. Because we did not measure change in perceived puberty and psy-
chosocial outcomes over time, we cannot know whether the effects of puberty
and our context moderators persist across a number of years.
Another limitation of the study is the lack of information regarding how
girls experienced their own pubertal changes, and importantly, the potentially
racialized nature of these changes within girls’ peer and family contexts.
Puberty acts as a social stimulus, altering how adults and peers respond to
early adolescents’ as their bodies develop (Ge et al., 2002; Nadeem &
Graham, 2005; Reynolds & Juvonen, 2011). As a result, how other individu-
als respond to adolescents’ as their bodies develop can be critical determi-
nants of vulnerability. Last, it is possible that other factors not measured in
this study could have accounted for variance of the endogenous variables.
For example, it is possible that prior problem behaviors in girls lead to greater
psychosocial adjustment problems in early developers, rather than early
pubertal timing. Thus, future research should consider other individual char-
acteristics that may influence variables examined in our study model. Last,
research is still needed to determine whether the results of this study general-
ize to other Black youth.

Conclusions
Our findings offer new insights into the relationships between perceived
pubertal timing relative to peers, school bonding, and externalizing behaviors
among Black girls, a population that is greatly underrepresented in much of
the puberty literature and who may be vulnerable to unique risks during this
developmental period (Carter, Caldwell, et al., 2011; Parker et al., 1995).
This focus is important because our results demonstrate that contextual fac-
tors can potentially counter the effects of early pubertal timing within this
population through the cultural norms and expectations that have relevance
to the social interactions of Black girls. Our study findings suggest that focus-
ing on how girls fit (or stand out) in their schools with regard to pubertal
development may provide important information about how girls feel
attached to their school. Because social comparison can provide needed
information on fitting in, it may be a useful theoretical tool for understanding
Carter et al. 857

how Black girls’ perceptions of pubertal timing and race-related influences

(in this case, friends) are linked to their school contexts. When designing
programs to educate all girls about pubertal development, schools should find
ways to promote multiple body ideal norms so that developing girls have
more opportunities to critique the thin-ideal, wherever they encounter it.
Programs that can instill in girls’ shared ideals that de-emphasize the norma-
tive mainstream thin-ideal may be instrumental in reducing early developing
girls’ susceptibility to negative adjustment outcomes.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-
tion of this article.

References
Akerlof, G. A., & Kranton, R. E. (2002). Identity and schooling: Some lessons for the
economics of education. Journal of Economic Literature, 40, 1167-1201.
Andrews, G., & Peters, L. (1998). The psychometric properties of the Composite
International Diagnostic Interview. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric
Epidemiology, 33, 80-88. doi:10.1007/s001270050026
Barr, S. C., & Neville, H. A. (2014). Racial socialization, color-blind racial ideol-
ogy, and mental health among black college students: An examination of an
ecological model. Journal of Black Psychology, 40, 138-165. doi:10.1177/
0095798412475084
Bearman, S. K., Martinez, E., Stice, E., & Presnell, K. (2006). The skinny on body
dissatisfaction: A longitudinal study of adolescent girls and boys. Journal of
Youth and Adolescence, 35, 217-229. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-9010-9
Benner, A. D., & Crosnoe, R. (2011). The racial/ethnic composition of elementary
schools and young children’s academic and socioemotional functioning. American
Educational Research Journal, 48, 621-646. doi:10.3102/0002831210384838
Benner, A. D., & Graham, S. (2007). Navigating the transition to multi-ethnic urban
high schools: Changing ethnic congruence and adolescents’ school-related
affect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17, 207-220. doi:10.1111/j.1532-
7795.2007.00519.x
Benner, A. D., & Graham, S. (2009). The transition to high school as a developmental
process among multiethnic urban youth. Child Development, 80, 356-376.
Benner, A. D., & Wang, Y. (2016). Racial/ethnic discrimination and adolescents’
well-being: The role of cross-ethnic friendships and friends’ experiences of dis-
crimination. Child Development, 88, 493-504. doi:10.1111/cdev.12606
858 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

Bollen, K. A., & Long, J. S. (1993). Testing structural equation models (Vol. 154).
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Carter, R., Caldwell, C. H., Matusko, N., Antonucci, T. C., & Jackson, J. S. (2011).
Ethnicity, perceived pubertal timing, externalizing behaviors, and depressive
symptoms among black adolescent girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40,
1394-1406. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9611-9
Carter, R., Jaccard, J., Silverman, W. K., & Pina, A. A. (2009). Pubertal timing and
its link to behavioral and emotional problems among “at-risk” African American
adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescence, 32, 467-481. doi:10.1016/j.adoles-
cence.2008.07.005
Carter, R., Silverman, W. K., & Jaccard, J. (2011). Sex variations in youth anxiety symp-
toms: Effects of pubertal development and gender role orientation. Journal of Clinical
Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40, 730-741. doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.597082
Caspi, A., Lynam, D., Moffitt, T. E., & Silva, P. A. (1993). Unraveling girls’ delin-
quency: Biological, dispositional, and contextual contributions to adolescent mis-
behavior. Developmental Psychology, 29, 19-30.
Cole, D. A., & Preacher, K. J. (2014). Manifest variable path analysis: Potentially
serious and misleading consequences due to uncorrected measurement error.
Psychological Methods, 19, 300-315.
Coleman, L., & Coleman, J. (2002). The measurement of puberty: a review. Journal
of Adolescence, 25, 535-550.
Colpe, L., Merikangas, K., Cuthbert, B., & Bourdon, K. (2004). Guest editorial.
International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13, 193-195.
Crockett, L. J., Schulenberg, J. E., & Petersen, A. C. (1987). Congruence between
objective and self-report data in a sample of young adolescents. Journal of
Adolescent Research, 2, 383-392.
Deardorff, J., Hayward, C., Wilson, K. A., Bryson, S., Hammer, L. D., & Agras, S.
(2007). Puberty and gender interact to predict social anxiety symptoms in early
adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, 102-104. doi:10.1016/j.jado-
health.2007.02.013
Dubas, J. S., Graber, J. A., & Petersen, A. C. (1991). A longitudinal investiga-
tion of adolescents’ changing perceptions of pubertal timing. Developmental
Psychology, 27, 580-586. doi:10.1037//0012-1649.27.4.580
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7,
117-140.
Ge, X., Brody, G. H., Conger, R. D., Simons, R. L., & Murry, V. M. (2002).
Contextual amplification of pubertal transition effects on deviant peer affiliation
and externalizing behavior among African American children. Developmental
Psychology, 38, 42-54. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.1.42
Ge, X., Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (1996). Coming of age too early: Pubertal
influences on girls’ vulnerability to psychological distress. Child Development,
67, 3386-3400.
Ge, X., & Natsuaki, M. N. (2009). In search of explanations for early pubertal timing
effects on developmental psychopathology. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 18, 327-331.
Carter et al. 859

Giordano, P. C. (2003). Relationships in adolescence. Annual Review of Sociology,

29, 257-281. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100047
Graber, J., Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1997). Is psychopa-
thology associated with the timing of pubertal development. American Academy
of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1768-1776. doi:10.1097/00004583-
199712000-00026
Graham, S., Taylor, A. Z., & Ho, A. Y. (2009). Race and ethnicity in peer relations
research. In K. H. Rubin, W. M. Bukowski, & B. P. Laursen (Eds.), Handbook
of peer interactions, relationships, and groups (pp. 394-413). New York, NY:
Guilford Press.
Hamlat, E. J., Shapero, B. G., Hamilton, J. L., Stange, J. P., Abramson, L. Y., &
Alloy, L. B. (2015). Pubertal timing, peer victimization, and body esteem differ-
entially predict depressive symptoms in African American and Caucasian girls.
Journal of Early Adolescence, 35, 378-402. doi:10.1177/0272431614534071
Hargreaves, D., & Tiggemann, M. (2003). Longer-term implications of respon-
siveness to “thin-ideal” television: Support for a cumulative hypothesis of
body image disturbance? European Eating Disorders Review, 11, 465-477.
doi:10.1002/erv.509
Hastings, J., Kromei, H., & Caldwell, C. H. (2012). Conducting quantitative research
with African American and Caribbean Black adult and adolescent populations:
Strategies for training interviewers from experiences with The National Survey
of American Life. In J. S. Jackson, C. H. Caldwell, & S. L. Sellers (Eds.),
Researching Black communities: A methodological guide (pp. 190-206). Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Hayward, C. (2003). Gender differences at puberty. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Herman-Giddens, M. E., Slora, E. J., Wasserman, R. C., Bourdony, C. J., Bhapkar,
M. V., Koch, G. G., & Hasemeier, C. M. (1997). Secondary sexual characteris-
tics and menses in young girls seen in office practice: a study from the Pediatric
Research in Office Settings network. Pediatrics, 99, 505-512.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance struc-
ture analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation
Modeling, 6, 1-55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118
Jaccard, J., Wan, C. K., & Turrisi, R. (1990). The detection and interpretation of inter-
action effects between continuous variables in multiple regression. Multivariate
Behavioral Research, 25, 467-478.
Jackson, J. S., Torres, M., Caldwell, C. H., Neighbors, H. W., Nesse, R. M., Taylor,
R. J., . . . Williams, D. R. (2004). The National Survey of American Life: A
study of racial, ethnic and cultural influences on mental disorders and mental
health. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13, 196-207.
doi:10.1002/mps.177
Jones, D. C. (2001). Social comparison and body image: Attractiveness comparisons
to models and peers among adolescent girls and boys. Sex Roles, 45, 645-664.
doi:10.1023/A:1014815725852
860 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

Kessler, R. C. (2011). National comorbidity survey: Adolescent supplement (NCS-A),

2001-2004. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social
Research.
Kessler, R. C., Avenevoli, S., Costello, E. J., Green, J. G., Gruber, M. J., Heeringa, S., . . .
Zaslavsky, A. M. (2009). National comorbidity survey replication adolescent supple-
ment (NCS-A): II. Overview and design. Journal of the American Academy of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 380-385. doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181999705
Kessler, R. C., Wittchen, H., Abelson, J. M., Mcgonagle, K., Schwarz, N., Kendler,
K. S., . . . Zhao, S. (1998). Methodological studies of the Composite International
Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) in the US National Comorbidity Survey (NCS).
International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 7, 33-55.
Kuncel, N. R., Credé, M., & Thomas, L. L. (2005). The validity of self-reported grade
point averages, class ranks, and test scores: A meta-analysis and review of the
literature. Review of Educational Research, 75(1), 63-82.
Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W. B. (1998).
Antisocial behavior and mental health problems: Explanatory factors in child-
hood and adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Mendle, J., Turkheimer, E., & Emery, R. E. (2007). Detrimental psychological out-
comes associated with early pubertal timing in adolescent girls. Developmental
Review, 27, 151-171. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2006.11.001
Morales-Chicas, J., & Graham, S. (2015). Pubertal timing of Latinas and school
connectedness during the transition to middle school. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 44, 1275-1287. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0192-x
Mrug, S., Elliott, M. N., Davies, S., Tortolero, S. R., Cuccaro, P., & Schuster, M. A.
(2014). Early puberty, negative peer influence, and problem behaviors in adoles-
cent girls. Pediatrics, 133(1), 7-14. doi:10.1542/peds.2013-0628
Muthén, B. O., & Muthén, L. K. (2010). Mplus Version 6.1 [Software]. Los Angeles,
CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Nadeem, E. (2005). Early puberty, peer victimization, and internalizing symptoms
in ethnic minority adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 197-222.
doi:10.1177/0272431604274177
Nadeem, E., & Graham, S. (2005). Early puberty, peer victimization, and internal-
izing symptoms in ethnic minority adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence,
25, 197-222.
Natsuaki, M. N., Samuels, D. V., & Leve, L. D. (2014). Puberty, identity, and context:
A biopsychosocial perspective on internalizing psychopathology in early adoles-
cent girls. In K. C. McLean & M. U. Syed (Eds.), Oxford handbook of identity
development (pp. 389-405). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Negriff, S., Brensilver, M., & Trickett, P. K. (2015). Elucidating the mechanisms
linking early pubertal timing, sexual activity, and substance use for maltreated
versus nonmaltreated adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56, 625-631.
doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.02.012
Negriff, S., & Susman, E. J. (2011). Pubertal timing, depression, and externalizing
problems: A framework, review, and examination of gender differences. Journal
of Research on Adolescence, 21, 717-746.
Carter et al. 861

Nichter, M. (2009). Fat talk: What girls and their parents say about dieting.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Parker, S., Nichter, M., Nichter, M., Vuckovic, N., Sims, C., & Ritenbaugh, C. (1995).
Body image and weight concerns among African American and White adolescent
females: Differences that make a difference. Human Organization, 54, 103-114.
doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2003.09.007
Postmes, T., & Branscombe, N. R. (2002). Influence of long-term racial environ-
mental composition on subjective well-being in African Americans. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 735-751.
Quintana, S. M. (2007). Racial and ethnic identity: Developmental perspectives
and research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 259. doi:10.1037/0022-
0167.54.3.259
Reynolds, B. M., & Juvonen, J. (2011). The role of early maturation, perceived popu-
larity, and rumors in the emergence of internalizing symptoms among adolescent
girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 1407-1422. doi:10.1007/s10964-
010-9619-1
Rogol, A. D., Clark, P. A., & Roemmich, J. N. (2000). Growth and pubertal develop-
ment in children and adolescents: effects of diet and physical activity. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72(Suppl. 2), 521S-528S.
Rose, T., Joe, S., Shields, J., & Caldwell, C. H. (2014). Social integration and the
mental health of black adolescents. Child Development, 85, 1003-1018.
Satorra, A., & Bentler, P. M. (2001). A scaled difference chi-square test statis-
tic for moment structure analysis. Psychometrika, 66, 507-514. doi:10.1007/
BF02296192
Schwartz, J. A., & Beaver, K. M. (2015). Making (up) the grade? Estimating the
genetic and environmental influences of discrepancies between self-reported
grades and official GPA scores. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1125-
1138. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0185-9
Simmons, R. G., & Blyth, D. A. (1987). Moving into adolescence: The impact of
pubertal change and school context. Hawthorne, NY: AldineTransaction.
Simons, R. L., Whitbeck, L. B., Conger, R. D., & Conger, K. J. (1991). Parenting
factors, social skills, and value commitments as precursors to school failure,
involvement with deviant peers, and delinquent behavior. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 20, 645-664.
Spencer, M. B. (2006). Phenomenology and ecological systems theory: Development
of diverse groups. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Series Eds.) & R. M. Lerner
(Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 1. Theoretical models of human
development (6th ed., pp. 829-893). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Spencer, M. B., Dupree, D., & Hartmann, T. (1997). A phenomenological variant of
ecological systems theory (PVEST): A self-organization perspective in context.
Development and Psychopathology, 9, 817-833.
Spivak, A. L., White, S. S., Juvonen, J., & Graham, S. (2015). Correlates of prosocial
behaviors of students in ethnically and racially diverse middle schools. Merrill-
Palmer Quarterly, 61, 236-263.
862 Journal of Black Psychology 43(8)

Stattin, H., & Magnusson, D. (1990). Pubertal maturation in female development.

Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Teunissen, H. A., Adelman, C. B., Prinstein, M. J., Spijkerman, R., Poelen, E. A.,
Engels, R. C., & Scholte, R. H. (2011). The interaction between pubertal timing
and peer popularity for boys and girls: An integration of biological and inter-
personal perspectives on adolescent depression. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 39, 413-423. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9467-1
Townsend, T. G. (2002). The impact of self-components on attitudes toward sex
among African American preadolescent girls: The moderating role of menarche.
Sex Roles, 47(1-2), 11-20. doi:10.1023/A:1020675518819
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Quintana, S. M., Lee, R. M., Cross, W. E., Rivas-Drake, D.,
Schwartz, S. J., . . . Seaton, E. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during ado-
lescence and into young adulthood: An integrated conceptualization. Child
Development, 85, 21-39. doi:10.1111/cdev.12196
Vaquera, E. (2009). Friendship, educational engagement, and school belonging:
Comparing Hispanic and White adolescents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral
Sciences, 31, 492-514. doi:10.1177/0739986309346023
Wheeler, L., Shaver, K. G., Jones, R. A., Goethals, G. R., Cooper, J., Robinson, J. E.,
. . . Butzine, K. W. (1969). Factors determining choice of a comparison other.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 5, 219-232. doi:10.1016/0022-
1031(69)90048-1
Yuan, K. H., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Normal theory based test statistics in structural
equation modelling. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology,
51(Pt 2), 289-309.