Kathryn Paige Harden

Harden and Elliot M. Tucker-Drob will analyze data from the Texas Twin Project, a study of over 1,000 twins, to examine how genetic and social factors interact to shape child and adolescent development. Harden will focus on how biological and social determinants may lead to the early onset of puberty and sexual development among low-income adolescents. She will test whether stress associated with poverty can induce physiological changes that “override” genetic influences on the timing of puberty. She will also examine whether earlier sexual development is related to later outcomes such as educational attainment and labor force participation.