Many factors can influence the onset and timing of puberty including genetic factors, weight, diet, socioeconomic status, home environment, and ethnicity and, the interactive effect of these factors on puberty needs further examination. Similar to a great deal of research on adolescent development, these patterns of pubertal development have been identified with predominantly White samples. There is a popular misconception that menstruation marks the onset of puberty in girls and body hair and voice changes mark the onset for boys, but these signs of sexual maturation emerge later in the process. For girls, early indications of pubertal change include breast budding and pubic hair growth and for boys, the onset of puberty includes growth of testes and first ejaculation. The pubertal process generally ends around ages 17–19 for girls and age 20 for boys. Though there is individual variability in the onset and duration of this process, pubertal development tends to begin earlier for girls than boys (girls: ages 10–12 boys: ages 12–14 though these average ranges have been declining with some early developing girls starting at age 8 and boys at age 10).
Pubertal development is a process, extending several years, that ends in biological and sexual maturity. Sessa, in Encyclopedia of Mental Health (Second Edition), 2016 Biological Development
