grade school”. (iii) Females responded to a question which asked if they had ever had a menstrual period. If they answered “yes” to this question they were asked the follow-up question: ‘How old were you when you had your first menstrual period?’ Participants who had their first menstruation before they were age 12 years were categorised as ‘early maturing’ (3), those who began menstruating between 12 and 13 years were regarded as ‘on-time’ (2) and those who had their first period after age 13 years were categorised as ‘late maturing’ (1). (iv) ‘How advanced is your physical development compared to other girls your age?’ Response options ranged from 1 “I look younger than most” to 5 “I look older than most”.
