PSYC 228 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Low Birth Weight
Document Summary
W29: for girls, weight gain in 1st 9 months. In mice: exposure to unrelated males: exposing females to the odor of an unfamiliar male would push the timing of puberty up. In canadian girls, father absence (or presence of another male) is associated with earlier puberty: high levels of stress has also been proven to mean earlier puberty (economic, parenting, etc. ) From an evolutionary perspective, our only goal is to reproduce. If growing up in a peaceful environment, delay onset puberty, delay sexual activity, stable relations, reproduce later. If growing up in conflict and father absence, depression, weight gain, early sexual activity, unstable relations, reproduce early because no expectations of stability in future so take opportunities. There are sex differences in how puberty is experience. For boys, early puberty is often a good thing (grow up, look better, more athletic); however late puberty boys are often happy in long run.
