Early maturation as a risk factor for aggression and delinquency in adolescent girls: A review.

Early physical maturation has long been considered a risk factor for the development of delinquent girls. The basis of this relationship has not been fully explored or understood. This review summarises the current literature and research on early physical maturation in adolescent females and places it within a developmental perspective. The process of early physical maturation is also placed within a biopsychosocial model so that risk and protective factors arising from the biological, social, family, education and peer environments can be ascertained. A complex model of maturation and environmental-social interaction is constructed and currently supported by research, but it is clear that a great deal of further work is necessary to fully understand this process.