Premium
Relationship of testosterone to men's family functioning at mid‐life: A research note
Author(s) -
Julian Teresa,
McKenry Patrick C.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/ab.2480150403
Subject(s) - aggression , psychology , testosterone (patch) , developmental psychology , trait , anxiety , stressor , clinical psychology , offspring , demography , medicine , endocrinology , pregnancy , psychiatry , biology , sociology , computer science , genetics , programming language
Sociobiological theory suggests that aggression coupled with altruism is highly adaptive for males in all social systems, including the family, whereas sex‐role convergence theory indicates that lower levels of aggression are most adaptive for men, particularly at mid‐life. The purpose of this study was to determine the role that testosterone, as a proxy for aggression, plays as an adaptive mechanism in the lives of middle‐aged males. The sample used in this study consisted of 37 middle‐aged (39–50 years of age) males employed in professional occupations in a midwestern metropolitan area. Testosterone levels were regressed on factors typically found to be related to male satisfaction with family life at mid‐life: marital satisfaction, parent‐adolescent communication, amount of emotional expressiveness, and androgynous characteristics; recent positive and negative stressors and trait anxiety were statistically controlled. Results of step‐wise multiple regression analysis indicated that low levels of testosterone were significantly (R = .34, P < .01) related to enhanced marital and parental relationships and androgynous behaviors; however, emotional expressiveness was significantly related to high levels of testosterone.