How Soon Is Now?

Large-scale longitudinal studies have reinvigorated interest in puberty as a critical developmental window for psychosis risk. Two recent contributions demonstrated that early pubertal timing predicts psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in both boys and girls (1), and that later (age-adjusted) pubertal status and higher estradiol levels are linked to PLEs in female adolescents (2). These studies provide timely and methodo-logically robust evidence that pubertal maturation is not merely a background correlate of psychopathology but rather an active developmental process shaping vulnerability. Using longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, in a recently published article in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science , Larson et al. (1) demonstrate that early pubertal timing, defined as developing physically ahead of same-age, same-sex peers, is a robust risk factor for PLEs and associated distress in both boys and girls, although the rate of development, or tempo, manifests sex-specific effects. Specifically, a slower pubertal tempo in boys is associated with more PLEs, whereas tempo does not significantly influence risk in girls. These patterns are consistent across both the adrenal and gonadal axes, as indexed by the respective subscales of the Pubertal Development Scale, highlighting earlier adrenarche as a particularly strong predictor of PLEs in girls. Complementing these findings, Pries et al. (2) also use data from the ABCD Study but focus on female adolescents. Similar to Larson et al. (1), they show that earlier age at menarche is associated with increased PLE likelihood, along with later perceived age-adjusted pubertal stage (mid-or late puberty vs. prepubertal) and higher salivary estradiol concentrations. During the active phase of pubertal maturation, estradiol may therefore represent a specific vulnerability factor, a finding