Abstract
BACKGROUND: While sex and racial/ethnic differences in pubertal development have been noted, most of this research has been in urban areas. AIM: The purpose of this study is to examine demographic differences in pubertal status among a school-based sample of US rural adolescents aged 11-17 (n = 6425). METHODS: Pubertal status was measured using the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS), a self-report scale of secondary sexual characteristics. This study compared pubertal status means by age, sex and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: At all ages, females had a higher mean pubertal status than males. Most racial/ethnic differences were between White and Black youth. Between the ages of 11 and 13, Black youth reported more advanced development than White youth. However, contrary to research with urban samples, this pattern of development reversed in later adolescence and the reversal was more prominent among males than females. Although there were no differences in pubertal status between White and Latino males, White females had higher mean levels of development than Latino females. CONCLUSION: Demographic patterns were both consistent with and different from previous research with urban adolescents, suggesting the need for comparison of demographic patterns of pubertal development in samples that include youth from urban and rural areas.