Penn State researchers study link between testosterone and family relationships

By VICKI CHENG

Centre Daily Times, July 6, 1998

UNIVERSITY PARK - So are you a high T or a low T? The answer could affect your marriage, your relationship with your kids, even the way your kids turn out.

Penn State scientists are studying levels of T - for testosterone - in 400 Central Pennsylvania families to see if the hormone plays a part in the intricate web of family relationships. They're also studying cortisol, another hormone linked to timid behavior.

'My three-year study is the biggest and most comprehensive of its kind, say researchers Alan Booth, a professor of sociology and human development, and Douglas Granger, assistant professor of biobehavioral health.

"We're trying to find out what makes the difference between high-testosterone men who do well and high-testosterone men who don't," Booth said. "High testosterone individuals are more likely to drink more, smoke more and get in accidents and fights ... Many of them are unemployed."

Potent Stuff

Why and how testosterone does what it does is still a mystery. But here's what scientists know about its effects.

Humans may have evolved with testosterone because the hormone is useful in conflict situations. Booth has shown that levels of it rise in chess players, wrestlers and tennis players before a match. Studies have shown that women with high levels of testosterone might choose male-dominated occupations more than other women.

In men, high levels of testosterone are also associated with better health. High-T men are less likely to be obese, for example, and generally have a stronger cardiovascular system.

But in men, who produce about seven times more testosterone than women, too much of the hormone can cause antisocial and risky behavior. High-T men are more likely to commit a crime, according to past studies.

"Men with high levels of testosterone are more likely to be unfaithful, abusive and less close in relationships with their wives," Booth said. They're more likely to divorce. Some high-T men aren't good marriage partners."

Fathers with high levels of testosterone often don't have good relationships with their kids, Booth said. But there are many men with high levels of testosterone who do well. Their secret is what Booth is after.

And cortisol, like adrenaline, helps your body adapt to "fight or flight," Granger said. Cortisol, like your heartbeat, will go up and down as a response to situations such as public speaking.

Granger has shown in past research that children who are socially withdrawn or anxious are more likely to have an increased level of cortisol in their bodies in response to stresses like social conflicts. And very high levels of cortisol may be associated with a suppressed immune system and memory impairments later in life.

The family relationship study

Granger, Booth and their colleagues want to see what happens when you compare what family members are like psychologically and socially to the levels of testosterone and cortisol in their bodies.

For that, they need saliva.

The study consists of 400 families within a 100-mile radius of State College. Each couple has two children. At the beginning of each year of the three-year study, researchers do in-depth interviews with each family member to get some of their psychological and social factors down. Then, each year, the test subjects each chew a piece of gum, expectorate into a test tube, and mail the biological samples in.

Granger is head of the Behavioral Endocrinology Laboratory, where the samples are analyzed for the levels of testosterone and cortisol they contain. 'We specialize in salivary testing of all different kinds of hormones," he said of his lab, where technicians sort through small tubes that come from as far away as Sweden and Australia for analysis in various experiments.

Statistical analysis of the data will probably start in December, Booth said. He speculated about some of scenarios the study might shed light on. In a family where the parents favor one child over another, example, perhaps the study will show that the unfavored child has a higher level of conflict with the parents, resulting in a higher level of testosterone produced by the child.

"Another thing we're looking at is the relationship between the mother's testosterone and the father's testosterone." Booth said. "People tend to marry individuals like themselves. Maybe high-T people are attracted to each other. But in most marriages, one individual tends to be more dominant. Maybe what we'll find is that high-T women marry low-T men, and vice versa."

Will the study result in a testosterone/cortisol compatibility test - potential mates, or testosterone suppressing pills? Probably not, Booth says. But it could provide new information on parenting.

'We think the way you're treated as a child may mute or raise the level of testosterone," he said.

We're concerned that the reason some high-T people are antisocial is because of the way they were treated as youths."

The study may show that the amount of time and attention parents give their children in early years affects their children's hormone levels. But that's just one of many factors that could affect testosterone and cortisol levels.

"The thing I'm most concerned about is what makes individuals with high testosterone successful," Booth said. "It's easier to modify behavior than physiology."

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