Abstract: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a profound effect on the mental health of children and adolescents.Emerging evidences suggest that puberty is a critical window for stress recalibration when environmental conditions change significantly.This offers an opportunity to mitigate maladaptive outcomes and improve mental health among youth with ACEs.This review first synthesizes empirical findings on how adverse experiences in childhood and adolescence interact to affect adolescent mental health,summarizing dominant patterns and theoretical frameworks.Based on the pubertal stress recalibration hypothesis,the study clarifies the mechanisms underlying stress recalibration during adolescence.Furthermore,we systematically consolidate the neurophysiological foundations for puberty plasticity,and summarize the conditions facilitating this process from a four-dimensional model of Environment-Gene-Agency-Timing.Finally,we propose a shift toward a protection-focused perspective in the future research,advocating for leveraging this pubertal window to mitigate the adverse effects of childhood adversity and foster positive mental health literacy among adolescents.

Key words: childhood adversity, mental health, pubertal stress recalibration, adolescents