Beyond Pubertal Timing: New Directions for Studying Individual Differences in Development

Dramatic physical and emotional changes mark puberty as one of the most important transitions of the human life span. To date, the majority of psychological studies on puberty have focused on pubertal timing, or when children mature relative to their peers. Yet understanding why puberty is meaningful requires adequate attention to multiple domains of developmental variation. The current article outlines four additional aspects of puberty relevant to health and well-being: tempo, synchrony, secular trends, and perceived development.