Synonyms
Definition
Puberty is a biological transaction during which steroid hormones remodel neural circuits, aiming to sexual maturation and species procreation. This process affects individuals’ development physically, socially and psychologically. Differently from adolescence, pubertal maturation does not rely upon sociocultural context to be defined.
Introduction
Puberty is a transitional period in human development, during which several physical changes occur in boys and girls in terms of reaching sexual maturity and becoming capable of reproduction. The word puberty is derived from Latin pubertas(“the age of maturity, manhood”). This period involves a series of biological and physical transformations, and it can affect individuals’ psychological and psychosocial development. In line with this, puberty has been an area of research interest in several branches of science, including psychology. In particular, the amount of...
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References
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Perasso, G., Ozturk, Y. (2020). Puberty. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1895
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1895
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