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newsReporter Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:43 am	Post subject: Girls are catching up with boys in use of illicit substance Despite commonly held beliefs that boys are at higher risk for using illegal substances, data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. There are also more girls who are new users of substances than boys. Read more... Source: News-Medical News Feed Latest Medical News From Around The World


Scolls Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:11 pm	Post subject: Strangely enough this doesn't suprise me! I think there's probably more girls on heavy drugs too!

iRuleThisForum Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:00 am	Post subject: I'm sure. Also girls mature faster than boys, so my intuition tells me that girls tend to pick up bad practices like use of illegal drugs faster than boys.

Scolls Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:10 am	Post subject: iRuleThisForum wrote: I'm sure. Also girls mature faster than boys, so my intuition tells me that girls tend to pick up bad practices like use of illegal drugs faster than boys. But this doesn't really bode well for the case of "girls maturing faster than boys" now does it? Perhaps physically they do, but mentally I have my doubts. From what I've seen so far it looks pretty much on a par.

iRuleThisForum Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:30 am	Post subject: Puberty ... Conclusion of puberty In a general sense, the conclusion of puberty is reproductive maturity. Criteria for defining the conclusion may differ for different purposes: attainment of the ability to reproduce, achievement of maximal adult height, maximal gonadal size, or adult sex hormone levels. Maximal adult height is achieved at an average age of 14.5 years for American girls and 17.5 years for American boys. Potential fertility (sometimes termed nubility) usually precedes completion of growth by 1-2 years in girls and 3-4 years in boys. Stage 5 in the tables above typically represents maximal gonadal growth and attainment of adult hormone levels. The document was originally published at Wikipedia and the document is licensed under GNU Free Document License. If you'd like to find out more about Puberty, you might be interested in visiting this page in Wikipedia.

Scolls Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:57 am	Post subject: So it's really just physically then, isn't it?

iRuleThisForum Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:37 am	Post subject: Scolls wrote: So it's really just physically then, isn't it? Well, there is also ... Effect of stress and social factors on pubertal timing Some of the least understood environmental influences on timing of puberty are social and psychological. In comparison with the effects of genetics, nutrition, and general health, social influences are small, shifting timing by a few months rather than years. Mechanisms of these social effects are unknown, though a variety of physiological processes, including pheromones, have been suggested based on animal research. The most important part of a child's psychosocial environment is the family, and most of the social influence research has investigated features of family structure and function in relation to earlier or later female puberty. Most of the studies have reported that menarche may occur a few months earlier in girls in high-stress households, whose fathers are absent during their early childhood, who have a stepfather in the home, who are subjected to prolonged sexual abuse in childhood, or who are adopted from a developing country at a young age. Conversely, menarche may be slightly later when a girl grows up in a large family with a biological father present. More extreme degrees of environmental stress, such as wartime refugee status with threat to physical survival, have been found to be associated with delay of maturation, an effect that may be compounded by dietary inadequacy. Most of these reported social effects are small and our understanding is incomplete. Most of these "effects" are statistical associations revealed by epidemiologic surveys. Statistical associations are not necessarily causal, and a variety of covariables and alternative explanations can be imagined. Effects of such small size can never be confirmed or refuted for any individual child. Furthermore, interpretations of the data are politically controversial because of the ease with which this type of research can be used for political advocacy. Accusations of bias based on political agenda sometimes accompany scientific criticism. Another limitation of the social research is that nearly all of it has concerned girls, partly because female puberty requires greater physiologic resources and partly because it involves a unique event (menarche) that makes survey research into female puberty much simpler than male. More detail is provided in the menarche article.

Scolls Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 7:10 am	Post subject: Seems to me then that it's more to do with a child's situation rather than gender. Any observation of a difference between genders can only be consequential and largely meaningless imo. Put it this way, you get both very mature boys as well as girls, and very immature of both too.

iRuleThisForum Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 10:20 am	Post subject: Scolls wrote: Put it this way, you get both very mature boys as well as girls, and very immature of both too. ... you believe that girls generally mature faster than boys. No?

Scolls Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:09 pm	Post subject: I don't think so. Looks about equal to me.

Author

Message

newsReporter

Joined: 24 Mar 2005

Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:43 am

Post subject: Girls are catching up with boys in use of illicit substance

Despite commonly held beliefs that boys are at higher risk for using illegal substances, data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. There are also more girls who are new users of substances than boys.

Read more...

Source: News-Medical News Feed
Latest Medical News From Around The World

Scolls

Joined: 05 Aug 2005

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:11 pm

Post subject:

Strangely enough this doesn't suprise me!
I think there's probably more girls on heavy drugs too!

iRuleThisForum

Joined: 23 Jul 2004

Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:00 am

Post subject:

I'm sure. Also girls mature faster than boys, so my intuition tells me that girls tend to pick up bad practices like use of illegal drugs faster than boys.

Scolls

Joined: 05 Aug 2005

Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:10 am

Post subject:

iRuleThisForum wrote:

I'm sure. Also girls mature faster than boys, so my intuition tells me that girls tend to pick up bad practices like use of illegal drugs faster than boys.

But this doesn't really bode well for the case of "girls maturing faster than boys" now does it? Confused

Perhaps physically they do, but mentally I have my doubts. From what I've seen so far it looks pretty much on a par.

iRuleThisForum

Joined: 23 Jul 2004

Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:30 am

Post subject:

Puberty

...

Conclusion of puberty

In a general sense, the conclusion of puberty is reproductive maturity. Criteria for defining the conclusion may differ for different purposes: attainment of the ability to reproduce, achievement of maximal adult height, maximal gonadal size, or adult sex hormone levels. Maximal adult height is achieved at an average age of 14.5 years for American girls and 17.5 years for American boys. Potential fertility (sometimes termed nubility) usually precedes completion of growth by 1-2 years in girls and 3-4 years in boys. Stage 5 in the tables above typically represents maximal gonadal growth and attainment of adult hormone levels.

The document was originally published at Wikipedia and the document is licensed under GNU Free Document License. If you'd like to find out more about Puberty, you might be interested in visiting this page in Wikipedia.

Scolls

Joined: 05 Aug 2005

Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:57 am

Post subject:

So it's really just physically then, isn't it?

iRuleThisForum

Joined: 23 Jul 2004

Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:37 am

Post subject:

Scolls wrote:

So it's really just physically then, isn't it?

Well, there is also ...

Effect of stress and social factors on pubertal timing

Some of the least understood environmental influences on timing of puberty are social and psychological. In comparison with the effects of genetics, nutrition, and general health, social influences are small, shifting timing by a few months rather than years. Mechanisms of these social effects are unknown, though a variety of physiological processes, including pheromones, have been suggested based on animal research.

The most important part of a child's psychosocial environment is the family, and most of the social influence research has investigated features of family structure and function in relation to earlier or later female puberty. Most of the studies have reported that menarche may occur a few months earlier in girls in high-stress households, whose fathers are absent during their early childhood, who have a stepfather in the home, who are subjected to prolonged sexual abuse in childhood, or who are adopted from a developing country at a young age. Conversely, menarche may be slightly later when a girl grows up in a large family with a biological father present.

More extreme degrees of environmental stress, such as wartime refugee status with threat to physical survival, have been found to be associated with delay of maturation, an effect that may be compounded by dietary inadequacy.

Most of these reported social effects are small and our understanding is incomplete. Most of these "effects" are statistical associations revealed by epidemiologic surveys. Statistical associations are not necessarily causal, and a variety of covariables and alternative explanations can be imagined. Effects of such small size can never be confirmed or refuted for any individual child. Furthermore, interpretations of the data are politically controversial because of the ease with which this type of research can be used for political advocacy. Accusations of bias based on political agenda sometimes accompany scientific criticism.

Another limitation of the social research is that nearly all of it has concerned girls, partly because female puberty requires greater physiologic resources and partly because it involves a unique event (menarche) that makes survey research into female puberty much simpler than male. More detail is provided in the menarche article.

Scolls

Joined: 05 Aug 2005

Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 7:10 am

Post subject:

Seems to me then that it's more to do with a child's situation rather than gender. Any observation of a difference between genders can only be consequential and largely meaningless imo.

Put it this way, you get both very mature boys as well as girls, and very immature of both too.

iRuleThisForum

Joined: 23 Jul 2004

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 10:20 am

Post subject:

Scolls wrote:

Put it this way, you get both very mature boys as well as girls, and very immature of both too.

... you believe that girls generally mature faster than boys. No?

Scolls

Joined: 05 Aug 2005

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:09 pm

Post subject:

I don't think so. Looks about equal to me.

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