Summary: Researchers analyzed longitudinal data from thousands of preteen girls. They discovered that testosterone, a hormone traditionally associated primarily with male development, plays a dominant, previously underestimated role in the early emotional vulnerability of girls aged 10 to 12. Crucially, the study proved that internal neurochemical fluctuations serve as far stronger predictors of anxiety and depression than outward physical changes, opening a vital window for early mental health intervention.
Key Facts
- The Testosterone Vulnerability Vector: Between the ages of 10 and 12, tracking revealed that testosterone levels gradually increase year over year in girls. Those experiencing the sharpest upward trajectory in testosterone reported significantly higher levels of emotional distress, characterized by persistent worry about social peer judgment, loneliness, and acute anxiety.
- Hormonal Primacy Over Physical Appearance: The study demonstrated that internal endocrine changes are highly predictive of early distress, whereas outward physical changes are not. In fact, girls who displayed earlier physical secondary sex characteristics often reported fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression.
- Estrogen as a Biological Shield: The researchers suggest that during later stages of puberty (ages 11 to 13), the increased presence of estrogen may actually act as a protective biological shield, helping to stabilize mood and buffer against the emotional distress triggered during the earlier testosterone surge.
- The Precursor Timeline (DHEA at Age 9): The neurochemical chain reaction starts early. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a metabolic precursor to testosterone, was found to spike in girls as young as 9 years old, accelerating early pubertal biology and setting the stage for subsequent emotional reactivity.
- Social Feedback Hyper-Sensitivity: The investigators emphasize that testosterone does not directly cause clinical depression. Instead, it acts as a neurological switch that makes the developing brain hyper-sensitive to social feedback. If a girl’s social environment provides negative or stressful feedback during this vulnerable window, anxiety and depressive symptoms manifest rapidly.
- Shifting the Intervention Window: Traditional adolescent mental health support systems are typically introduced during the mid-to-late teens. This study identifies the 10-to-12 age range as an essential, proactive window of opportunity to implement emotional support frameworks before distress escalates into full clinical disorders.
Source: University of Georgia
Testosterone may play a bigger role in the emotional development of girls entering puberty than previously thought, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
Higher levels of change in the hormone were linked to more emotional difficulties for girls between the ages of 10 and 12, even when accounting for the presence of other hormonal levels, the study found.
The study also suggests physical development during early puberty is less likely to predict depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescent girls than hormone levels.
“Some girls may become more emotionally vulnerable during early puberty, and that’s important because it’s sometimes happening before the parents even notice or see any signs of distress,” said Assaf Oshri, co-author of the study and a professor in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Oshri also serves as director of the Georgia Center for Developmental Science.
“We’re identifying a risk mechanism that gives us a better window of opportunity to prevent mental health problems from escalating.”
As the preteen age range is a critical period for emotional and brain development, understanding what youth go through could help circumvent some of the additional mental struggles they may experience, the researchers said.
Different hormones may influence girls at different ages
Researchers analyzed data of more than 5,400 girls from the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States.
Prior research has indicated estradiol, which is derived from estrogen, as the driver of many of the mental and physical changes young girls experience when entering puberty.
The present study found that between the ages of 10 and 12, testosterone gradually increased year over year. Girls with more change in testosterone in that age range were more likely to report increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. They felt lonely or were worried about what others thought of them.
“It’s not necessarily that if you have too much testosterone you’re going to be depressed or anxious. It’s that this is a vulnerable period when you first become really sensitive to social feedback,” said Avary Evans, corresponding author of the study and a graduate assistant in the UGA department of human development and family science. “If your environment is giving you social feedback that leads to anxiety and depression, that’s when you’re going to be vulnerable to it.”
“Puberty is not a problem … Puberty just creates a window of increased sensitivity, and we need to be aware of it.”Avary Evans, College of Family & Consumer Sciences
Researchers also found that DHEA, a precursor for testosterone, spiked in girls as young as age 9. That hormone could accelerate development during puberty and, in turn, exacerbate these emotional difficulties.
Estrogen became more present during later stages of puberty, between ages 11 and 13.
This suggests that different hormones may influence mental health at different times, even past testosterone’s peak, the study found.
Even when accounting for DHEA and estradiol levels, testosterone remained the most significant predictor of depression or anxiety-related symptoms in young girls.
“What we found are not clinical disorders yet. That’s what makes them a developmental precursor or a red flag. This is emotional distress,” Oshri said. “Testosterone may mark a period when the brain becomes more sensitive to social feedback. So, when your body is more developed than your peers and that social feedback is really meaningful, you’re actually processing it. And it affects you, sometimes negatively.”
Physical maturation less indicative of mental health than hormones
Physical development did not have an equal impact on emotional distress, the study found.
Girls in the same age range who began showing secondary sex characteristics earlier often reported fewer feelings of depression and anxiety. Estrogen, timed out with that physical transition, may actually serve as a biological shield against these feelings, the researchers said.
“Puberty is not just a physical maturation. It’s also a major biological transition in the brain,” Oshri said. “A girl may not look dramatically different yet, but their endocrine system may already be changing in ways that affect stress sensitivity, emotional reactivity and mood.
“There’s a lot happening under the surface.”
Youth may benefit from earlier support systems
Mental health interventions are typically offered for youth in their teenage years. But early puberty — that 10 to 12 age range — may also be an important time for supporting emotional well-being, the researchers said.
“Puberty is not a problem. Most adolescent girls and boys navigate puberty very successfully,” Evans said. “Puberty just creates a window of increased sensitivity, and we need to be aware of it.
“If we are proactive before all of this scary change is happening, not only on the outside but also in their brain, then we might be able to curb a little bit of that freakout time.”
Funding: The study was published in Psychoneuroendocrinology and is part of a larger National Institutes of Health-funded project led by Oshri. Co-authors include FACS Athletic Association Professor of Human Development Steven Kogan, associate professor Kalsea Koss and associate dean for research Charles Geier, as well as child psychiatrist Ellen House, a clinical professor at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership. Geier and Kogan also serve as associate directors of the Georgia Center for Developmental Science, where House serves as an investigator.
Key Questions Answered:
A: While testosterone is typically thought of as a male hormone, it is a natural and vital part of female biology as well. During early puberty, girls experience a steady, internal rise in testosterone derived from their adrenal glands and ovaries. Dr. Assaf Oshri’s research reveals that this early testosterone surge acts directly on the brain’s emotional centers before visible physical changes take place. It alters the endocrine system in ways that temporarily amplify stress sensitivity and mood changes, making it a critical driver of early pubertal development.
A: Testosterone acts as a biological amplifier for social awareness. Corresponding author Avary Evans notes that a surge in this hormone creates a unique neurological window where the brain becomes highly sensitive to social feedback and peer opinions. The hormone itself doesn’t generate anxiety; rather, it makes the preteen intensely tuned into whether they fit in, what others think of them, and whether they feel lonely. If their social circle or environment provides negative feedback during this high-sensitivity window, emotional distress flares up.
A: The primary takeaway is that a child’s outward physical appearance does not reflect the complex neurochemical changes occurring beneath the surface. A 10-year-old girl might look no different than she did a year prior, yet her internal endocrine system may already be undergoing a major biological transition. Because these under-the-surface testosterone shifts occur long before visible signs of puberty appear, parents and educators must be proactive in offering emotional support early, rather than waiting for physical changes or obvious signs of distress to emerge.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- Journal paper reviewed in full.
- Additional context added by our staff.
About this neurodevelopment and emotions research news
Author: Savannah Peat
Source: University of Georgia
Contact: Savannah Peat – University of Georgia
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Links between hormonal and pubertal development, and adolescent females’ risk for affective symptoms” by Assaf Oshri, Avary I. Evans, Charles F. Geier, Ellen M. House, Kalsea J. Koss, Steven M. Kogan. Psychoneuroendocrinology
DOI:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107849
Abstract
Links between hormonal and pubertal development, and adolescent females’ risk for affective symptoms
Depression and anxiety symptoms surge during adolescence, particularly in females, yet the biological mechanisms underlying this vulnerability remain poorly understood. Although estrogen has traditionally been emphasized, androgens such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone may represent distinct pathways to affective symptom risk.
The present study examined whether increases in testosterone predict internalizing symptoms in adolescent females by examining hormonal and physical aspects of pubertal development and testing whether testosterone effects persist beyond estradiol and observable maturation.
Using data from 5476 females (ages 9–13) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, we analyzed annual salivary DHEA, testosterone, and estradiol alongside caregiver-reported pubertal development and youth-reported internalizing symptoms.
Latent change score models captured developmental dynamics: univariate models characterized growth trajectories, bivariate coupling models tested directional hormonal influences, and the final model evaluated whether testosterone and pubertal development changes predicted internalizing symptoms, controlling for estradiol, age, and assay covariates. Testosterone increased gradually across early adolescence, whereas DHEA showed accelerating, nonlinear growth. Increases in testosterone predicted higher internalizing symptoms between ages 10 and 12 (b = 0.041, 95% CI [0.007, 0.076]; b = 0.075, 95% CI [0.009, 0.142]).
Observable pubertal development was negatively associated with internalizing symptoms at one assessment. Estradiol predicted subsequent pubertal development and showed concurrent associations with internalizing symptoms at two assessments but did not explain the testosterone-internalizing link.
Increases in testosterone predicted internalizing symptoms after accounting for observable maturation and estradiol, identifying a specific vulnerability window between ages 10–12 with implications for early identification and timing of preventive interventions.
