ERIC Number: ED318138
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986
Pages: 64
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Cognitive Function in Individuals with Atypical Pubertal Development.
Rovet, Joanne F.; And Others
A study of 55 growth-disturbed children, aged 8-17, was conducted to assess how rate of physical maturation and pubertal development influences cognitive and neuropsychological functioning. The sample included 27 boys with short stature and delayed pubertal development (SSB), 15 girls with delayed puberty (DPG), and 13 girls with precocious puberty (PPG). Results demonstrated a clear maturation rate effect, which reflected primarily the timing of puberty. SSB and DPG outperformed PPG on spatial tasks, while PPG outperformed SSB and DPG on verbal tasks. SSB were also more strongly lateralized than PPG on tasks of hemispheric specialization, especially those tapping right hemisphere functioning. Results for experimental cognitive tasks showed that SSB encoded visual stimuli faster than other groups, but had more difficulty comprehending complex visual information and naming objects and had smaller memory span sizes. Regression analyses predicting performance from biomaturational variables indicated that rate of pubertal development was the primary predictor of intellectual functioning and hemispheric lateralization; advanced puberty correlated positively with verbal ability and negatively with left hemisphere specialization and spatial ability. Hormonal levels which were correlated with aspects of cognitive functioning indicated that the development of different abilities may be under the control of different hormonal systems. (60 references) (Author/JDD)
Descriptors: Adolescents, Body Height, Brain Hemisphere Functions, Cognitive Ability, Elementary Secondary Education, Females, Foreign Countries, Individual Development, Males, Maturity (Individuals), Neurological Impairments, Physical Development, Preadolescents, Psychological Characteristics, Puberty, Spatial Ability, Visual Literacy
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Toronto
Authoring Institution: Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (Ontario).
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A