Editing Precocious puberty (section)

== Prognosis ==
Early puberty is posited to put girls at [[Child sexual abuse|higher risk of sexual abuse]];<ref name=newscientist.com/><ref name="Mendle"/> however, a causal relationship is, as yet, inconclusive.<ref name="Mendle"/> Early puberty also puts girls at a higher risk for teasing or bullying, mental health disorders and short stature as adults.<ref name=newscientist.com/><ref name="Stattin & Magnussion"/><ref name="Caspi">(Caspi et al.1993: Lanza and Collins, 2002)</ref> Girls as young as 8 are increasingly starting to [[Menstruation|menstruate]], develop breasts and grow pubic and underarm hair; these "biological milestones" typically occurred only at 13 or older in the past.  African-American girls are especially prone to early puberty.<ref name=ncbi/>

Though boys face fewer problems from early puberty than girls do, early puberty is not always positive for boys. Early sexual maturation in boys can be accompanied by increased aggressiveness due to the surge of pubertal hormones.<ref name="Garn">Garn, SM. Physical growth and development. In: Friedman SB, Fisher M, Schonberg SK, editors. Comprehensive Adolescent Health Care. St Louis: Quality Medical Publishing; 1992. Retrieved on 2009-02-20</ref> Because they appear older than their peers, pubescent boys may face increased social pressure to conform to adult norms; society may view them as more emotionally advanced, although their [[Cognition|cognitive]] and [[Social emotional development|social development]] may lag behind their physical development.<ref name=Garn/> Studies have shown that early-maturing boys are more likely to be sexually active and are more likely to participate in risky behaviors.<ref name=Susman>Susman, EJ; Dorn, LD; Schiefelbein, VL. Puberty, sexuality, and health. In: Lerner MA, Easterbrooks MA, Mistry J., editors. Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology. New York: Wiley; 2003. Retrieved on 2009-02-20</ref>