Menarche

Menarche is the first menstrual bleeding, the first indicator of reproductive capacity in women, and an important factor that relates to girls’ successful transition into adulthood roles. Although much popular focus tends to be paid to menarche itself, the study of adolescence places significance on what happens in early life that leads to menarche, how it is addressed during adolescence, and then its eventual effects. Despite important research in this area, it continues to be the subject of considerable controversy.

Menarche and the role it plays in developmental outcomes is known to be regulated by childhood events, but the influential mechanisms are poorly understood. For example, research has long established that the earlier onset of puberty among females associates with greater sexual risk taking, including earlier sexual activity and higher rates of pregnancy (see, e.g., Manlove 1997). Recent research now shows that maternal harshness at 54 months predicts earlier age of...