Pubertal Development Scale (Carskadon & Acebo, 1993)

• Populations: 11-17
• Age ranges: Children and Adolescents
• Languages: English, French
• Countries: France; United States

Items

Subscales:

• Boys
• Girls

Items by subscale

Items presented on both measure versions:

• Would you say that your growth in height:
• And how about the growth of your body hair? (“Body hair+ means hair any place other than your head, such as under your arms.) Would you say that your body hair growth: [for clarity, this question and the one above represent one item as reported]
• Have you noticed any skin changes, especially pimples?

Boys measures

• Have you noticed a deepening of your voice?
• Have you begun to grow hair on your face?

Girls measures

• Have you noticed that your breasts have begun to grow?
• Have you begun to menstruate (started to have your
  period)?
  
  • If yes, how old were you when you started to menstruate?

Responses

All boys’ version and numbers 1-4 on the girls’ version items used a 5 Item ordinal response format: not yet started, barely started. definitely started, seems complete, and I don’t know. The menstruation item used a yes / no response format.

(Carskadon & Acebo, 1993)

Scoring

Responses were scored thus:

• not yet started (1 point);
• barely started (2 points);
• definitely started (3 points);
• seems complete (4 points);
• I don’t know (missing)
• Menstruation Yes  (4 points)
• Menstruation No (1 point)

Points are then averaged across responses for the Pubertal Development Scale score.

Further, Carskadon and Acebo (1993) describe “Puberty Category Scores” by measure version: 

“Boys” used body hair growth, voice change, and facial hair growth to score individuals using this version:

• Prepubertal (3)
• Early Pubertal (4 or 5 with no 3 point responses)
• Midpubertal (6, 7, or 8 with no 4 point responses)
• Latepubertal (9-11)
• Postpubertal (12)

“Girls” used body hair growth, breast development, and menarche to score individuals using this version:

• Prepubertal (3)
• Early Pubertal (3 and no menarche)
• Midpubertal (4 and no menarche)
• Late Puberty (≤7 and menarche)
• Postpubertal (8 and menarche)

(Carskadon & Acebo, 1993)

Citations

Carskadon, M. A., & Acebo, C. (1993). A self-administered rating scale for pubertal development. Journal of Adolescent Health, 14(3), 190-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/1054-139X(93)90004-9

Potard, C., Courtois, R., Clarisse, R., Le Floc’h, N., Thomine, M., & Réveillère, C. (2016). Influence de la maturation pubertaire et de l’estime de soi corporelle sur la sexualité à l’adolescence. L’Encéphale, 42(2), 138–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2015.12.015

Team comments

Please note that this scale is presented as reported, and that some sexual development terminology may not accurately represent populations or contemporary terminology.