Abstract
A model of pubertal growth based on psychoanalytic ego psychology is applied to the study of early and late maturation in males. From this model the personality development of early and late maturers in the Guidance Study is examined prior to, at, and following their onset of puberty. Consistent with previous longitudinal research, the dimensions of motility and expressiveness appear to be specifically connected to patterns of physical maturation. Findings suggest that the length of the latency period regulates one''s preparation for the pubertal somatic changes and may decisively influence postpubertal impulse-controlling mechanisms of the personality.

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