162 



THE SEX-COMPLEX 



Psychical 

 causes of 

 delayed 

 puberty. 



Physical 

 causes of 

 delayed 

 puberty. 



mind to alter structure. So in the first case we find 

 that, with the onset of the physical phenomena associated 

 with puberty, modesty and shyness develop in a girl 

 hitherto untroubled with self-consciousness. Even then 

 she may have but a vague instinctive knowledge of 

 sexual matters. In the second case, in which the mind 

 influences the onset of the physical phenomena of 

 puberty, investigation has shown 1 that the effect of 

 enlightenment concerning sexual matters, with perhaps 

 the stimulation of the sexual appetite by various means, 

 hastens the onset of puberty. Conversely, seclusion and 

 innocence tend to delay it. 



Further, hard mental work, such as studying for 

 examinations at school, may lead to a delay in the de- 

 velopment of the girl. Such cases are seen by most 

 gynaecologists, but we know of no statistics giving the 

 age incidence in a large number of girls who have 

 studied closely between the ages of twelve and twenty 

 years, although Catherine Chisholm 2 denies that study 

 affects either menstruation or the general health of these 

 girls. Further investigations properly carried out would 

 have considerable interest at the present time, especially 

 as her results not only lack support, but are diametrically 

 opposed to the observations of others 3 . 



With regard to many of the physical causes of delayed 

 puberty there is much conflicting evidence. It is, 

 however, well established that general ill-health, bad 

 feeding, unhygienic surroundings and hard work in 

 factories tend to delay the development of the girl and 

 the onset of puberty. 



The disorders met with may be produced by the 

 causal factors enumerated above in different ways : 

 the food may be deficient in calcium salts, which are 

 required for building up the skeleton before any can be 



1 Ellis, Havelock, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, 1913. 



2 Chisholm, Catherine, Joum. Obstet. and Gynaecol. Brit. Emp., 

 1913, vol. xxiii, p. 288. 



3 Cardew, G. A., Discussion, Brit. Med, Assoc, Brit. Med, Journ., 

 1900, vol. ii, p. 792. 



