Elsevier

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

Highlights

Early puberty can be associated with both negative and positive cognitive outcomes.

The effects are domain specific. Early maturation may be associated with lower self-control but better attention.

The effects of early maturation appear to be mediated or moderated by social contexts.

Supportive contexts may allow early maturers to benefit from new learning opportunities in adolescence.

Entering puberty at a relatively young age is often thought to be associated with negative outcomes, such as poorer cardiovascular and psychosocial health. However, the literature on the relationship between early puberty, learning, and academic achievement is inconclusive. Previous work suggests both positive and negative health and cognitive outcomes after early puberty. We here review recent findings on the relationship between early puberty and cognitive outcomes and integrate these findings into larger theoretical frameworks of pubertal development. We argue that differences in observed outcomes may be explained by domain-specific and context-specific effects of early puberty. Early maturation may be linked to positive as well as negative cognitive outcomes, depending on the domain studied, and effects appear to be influenced by the wider social context, with less supportive environments associated with poorer outcomes for early maturers.

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