Boys reach sexual ripe
The stage of life between physical and social adulthood extended
Boys are always previously physically grown up. Since at least the mid-18. Century has fallen by about 2,5 months per decade, the age of their sexual maturity. This previously difficult to substantiate trend pointed Joshua Goldstein, director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock (MPIDR), now using mortality data to. This seems to be true for boys, what was already known for girls: The period during which young people although sexually mature but socially not yet grown, is growing.
"Boys, like girls, are likely to become sexually mature earlier because of increasing nutritional and health conditions," says demographer Joshua Goldstein. Medical records have long shown that girls have their first menstrual period earlier. However, comparable data does not exist for boys. Goldstein now corrected the deficiency with demographic figures: Exactly when boys produce the most hormones during puberty, their probability of dying also increases by leaps and bounds. This so-called "accident hump" is a phenomenon that exists in almost all societies and that is statistically well recorded (see graphic).
Goldstein found that since the middle of the 18th century, the maximum value of accident humps has shifted by about 2,5 months per decade towards younger ages - and with it the sexual maturity of boys. (This is shown by data for Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Great Britain and Italy. From 1950 the data is no longer clear and indicates stagnation.) The maximum of the accident humps is in the late phase of male puberty, i.e. after reaching fertility and voice break.
When boys become sexually mature, they live more risky lives and die more often
The accident hump, which also occurs in male apes, occurs because young men behave in a particularly risky manner at the time when the hormone testosterone is released at its greatest: Dangerous imposing behavior, carelessness and a high degree of willingness to use violence increasingly lead to fatal accidents. Although they remain rare, the rate is increasing by leaps and bounds (see chart).
"An 18-year-old today is as physically developed as a 22-year-old in 1800," says Joshua Goldstein. The main reason for this is that people are eating more and more nutritious food and are becoming more resistant to diseases. The fact that the point of sexual maturity is shifting, seems to have biological causes, but is not related to technological advances or changes in social behavior: for example, the proliferation of cars or guns had no significant effect on the Accident Humps data.
The changes in sexual maturity can only be proven indirectly via mortality data. Nevertheless, Joshua Goldstein emphasizes the importance of their biological significance: "For the first time, researchers can understand how women and men react in the same way to changes in the environment."
Biological and social adult status are drifting apart
"The biological and social phases of young people's lives are increasingly drifting apart," says Joshua Goldstein. "While young people become biological adults earlier and earlier, they reach the social status of adulthood later and later." Life course research shows this: For a good half century, the age at which young people marry, have children, start their careers and become financially independent has been increasing become the parents.
This not only lengthens the phase of physical adulthood, during which young people do not have children, says Joshua Goldstein. "Important decisions in a person's life are being made at an increasing distance from the carelessness of young people." It is unclear whether the "high-risk phase" of their adolescence will become more dangerous for young men because they experience it earlier, says the demographer. It is true that boys are less mentally and socially stable at an earlier age and may therefore be more at risk. On the other hand, they would then be under more parental supervision.
About the MPIDR
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) investigates the structure and dynamics of populations. From politically relevant topics of demographic change such as aging, birth behavior or the distribution of working hours over the life course to evolutionary biological and medical aspects of aging. The MPIDR is one of the largest demographic research institutions in Europe and one of the leading international institutes in this discipline. It belongs to the Max Planck Society, one of the world's most renowned research communities.
Source: Rostock [ MPIDR ]
