Testosterone and romance: The association of testosterone with relationship commitment and satisfaction in heterosexual men and women

Objectives: The current study extends previous research on testosterone (T) and mating effort by examining whether relationship commitment and satisfaction explain variance in T beyond relationship status alone. Methods: Salivary testosterone and self‐reported assessments of relationship commitment and satisfaction were assessed among 90 heterosexual men and women (age M = 23.57) in a cross‐sectional community sample. Results: Relationship commitment was significantly related to T among men ( P < 0.01), with increasing levels of commitment predicting lower T, even among paired men ( P < 0.05). In contrast, relationship commitment was not related to women's T ( P > 0.05). Controlling for relationship commitment, satisfaction did not predict T levels in men or women ( P 's > 0.18). Conclusions: The association of increasing relationship commitment with reduced T levels in men confirms and extends prior research linking T with mating effort. Together with previous research, this study suggests that T does not vary with relationship commitment or quality in monogamous, heterosexual women. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.