Physical Activity, Physical Self-Concept, and Health-Related Quality of Life of Extreme Early and Late Maturing Adolescent Girls

In this study we tested for differences in physical activity (PA), physical self-concept, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between the least and most biologically mature adolescent females within their respective chronological and academic year groups. A total of 222 British female adolescents aged 10 to 14 years ((X) over bar age = 12.7 years; SD = .8) completed a series of instruments assessing PA, physical self-concept, and HRQoL. Percentage of predicted adult stature was used as an index of biological maturation. A series of univariate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for chronological age, revealed that the most mature girls within the chronological and academic year groups generally reported lower levels of physical self-concept and, to a lesser extent, PA and HRQoL when compared to the least mature girls. The findings provide partial support toward the contention that maturity-associated variance in health-related outcomes is accentuated at the extreme ends of the biological maturity continuum.