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Brown ER, Gettler LT, Rosenbaum S. Effects of social environments on male primate HPG and HPA axis developmental programming. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22491. [PMID: 38698633 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Developmental plasticity is particularly important for humans and other primates because of our extended period of growth and maturation, during which our phenotypes adaptively respond to environmental cues. The hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes are likely to be principal targets of developmental "programming" given their roles in coordinating fitness-relevant aspects of the phenotype, including sexual development, adult reproductive and social strategies, and internal responses to the external environment. In social animals, including humans, the social environment is believed to be an important source of cues to which these axes may adaptively respond. The effects of early social environments on the HPA axis have been widely studied in humans, and to some extent, in other primates, but there are still major gaps in knowledge specifically relating to males. There has also been relatively little research examining the role that social environments play in developmental programming of the HPG axis or the HPA/HPG interface, and what does exist disproportionately focuses on females. These topics are likely understudied in males in part due to the difficulty of identifying developmental milestones in males relative to females and the general quiescence of the HPG axis prior to maturation. However, there are clear indicators that early life social environments matter for both sexes. In this review, we examine what is known about the impact of social environments on HPG and HPA axis programming during male development in humans and nonhuman primates, including the role that epigenetic mechanisms may play in this programming. We conclude by highlighting important next steps in this research area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella R Brown
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
- Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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2
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Gettler LT, Rosenbaum S, Bechayda SA, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Men's physical health and life history transitions in the Philippines: Evidence for 'marital selection' but not protective effects of partnering and fatherhood. Soc Sci Med 2024; 346:116732. [PMID: 38452489 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
In Euro-American societies, married people typically have lower overall risks for total mortality and for certain chronic conditions compared to non-married people. However, people becoming partnered and parents also tend to gain weight in Euro-American settings. Few studies have tested whether links between physical health and life history status translate to other cultural contexts where the socio-ecological dynamics of family life may differ. This limits the application of these insights to men's well-being in global public health. To help address this gap, we drew on a large, long-running birth cohort study of Filipino men, using data collected at three waves between 2005 and 2014 when men were 21.5-30.5 years old (N = 607, obs. = 1760). We tested for the effects of the transition to partnering (marriage/cohabitation) and fatherhood on men's physical health (waist circumference, fat-free mass index, and grip strength). Men becoming partnered or partnered fathers (P/PF) had comparable longitudinal physical health trajectories to men remaining single non-fathers. However, men who became P/PF by their mid 20s had higher fat-free mass index values than single non-fathers at each wave, with the largest effect observed when all men were single non-fathers at baseline. Men who became P/PF by their early 30s were also stronger than the reference group at baseline. Thus, men who were more muscular and stronger at baseline were more likely to transition to P/PF status, consistent with a 'marital selection' model. In complementary analyses, men did not exhibit adverse health effects when they became partnered fathers as young adults or parents to infants, respectively. These findings suggest that links between health and life history transitions in this setting differ from those commonly observed in Euro-American societies. While transitions to marriage and fatherhood are promising windows for interventions to improve men's health, our results highlight the importance of tailoring such approaches to local dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA; Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
| | - Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Sonny Agustin Bechayda
- USC Office of Population Studies Foundation, and Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History, University of San Carlos, Metro Cebu, 6016, Philippines
| | - Thomas W McDade
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Christopher W Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
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3
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Luberti FR, Carré JM. Testosterone's role in modulating human behaviors relevant to mating and parenting. Front Neuroendocrinol 2024; 72:101112. [PMID: 37972861 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Testosterone (T) is linked to human mating and parenting. Here, we comprehensively reviewed evidence on whether, in men and women, (1) basal T levels are related to mating and parenting behaviors, (2) T responds to reproduction-relevant cues, (3) acute changes in T map onto subsequent mating and parenting behaviors, and (4) single-dose exogenous T administration causally affects mating and parenting behaviors. We examined whether the available evidence supports trade-off interpretations of T's adaptive function whereby high T levels correspond to greater mating/reproductive effort and competition and low T levels to greater parenting effort and nurturance. We found mixed support for trade-off hypotheses, suggesting that T's function in modulating human mating and parenting might be more nuanced and highly dependent on context and individual trait differences. Results were largely similar for men and women, although studies with women were scarcer than those with men for most behaviors we reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca R Luberti
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON P1B 8L7 Canada.
| | - Justin M Carré
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON P1B 8L7 Canada.
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4
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Cárdenas SI, Tse W, León G, Kim A, Tureson K, Lai M, Saxbe DE. Prenatal testosterone synchrony in first-time parents predicts fathers' postpartum relationship quality. Horm Behav 2023; 156:105440. [PMID: 37862979 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
There is evidence that men's testosterone levels decline across the transition to fatherhood and that this decline may reflect fathers' investment in the new family. There is also emerging evidence that cohabiting couples show synchrony or within-couple associations in testosterone levels during the perinatal period. Hormonal synchrony may act as a mechanism that supports fathers' biological preparation for parenthood, perhaps by facilitating perinatal declines in paternal testosterone. However, few studies have examined testosterone synchrony and change within couples. A sample of 97 U.S. couples expecting their first child provided testosterone samples during pregnancy, and of those couples, 78 couples also provided testosterone at seven months postpartum. Couples reported on relationship satisfaction both at prenatal and postpartum visits. Bayesian multilevel modeling revealed within-couple testosterone synchrony both during pregnancy and postpartum. Testosterone synchrony during pregnancy predicted a greater drop in fathers' testosterone levels from prenatal to postpartum and higher paternal postpartum relationship quality. Fathers' lower prenatal testosterone levels also subsequently predicted higher self-reported postpartum relationship quality for both parents. In sum, this study finds that couples' testosterone levels show synchrony across the transition to parenthood in ways that are associated with couple relationship quality and men's neuroendocrine preparation for fatherhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia I Cárdenas
- University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, United States of America.
| | - Winnie Tse
- University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, United States of America
| | - Gabriel León
- University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, United States of America
| | - Alice Kim
- University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, United States of America
| | - Kayla Tureson
- University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, United States of America
| | - Mark Lai
- University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, United States of America
| | - Darby E Saxbe
- University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, United States of America
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5
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Gettler LT, Samson DR, Kilius E, Sarma MS, Miegakanda V, Lew-Levy S, Boyette AH. Hormone physiology and sleep dynamics among BaYaka foragers of the Congo Basin: Gendered associations between nighttime activity, testosterone, and cortisol. Horm Behav 2023; 155:105422. [PMID: 37683498 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Sleep quality is an important contributor to health disparities and affects the physiological function of the immune and endocrine systems, shaping how resources are allocated to life history demands. Past work in industrial and post-industrial societies has shown that lower total sleep time (TST) or more disrupted nighttime sleep are linked to flatter diurnal slopes for cortisol and lower testosterone production. There has been little focus on these physiological links in other socio-ecological settings where routine sleep conditions and nighttime activity demands differ. We collected salivary hormone (testosterone, cortisol) and actigraphy-based sleep data from Congolese BaYaka foragers (N = 39), who have relatively short and fragmented nighttime sleep, on average, in part due to their typical social sleep conditions and nighttime activity. The hormone and sleep data collections were separated by an average of 11.23 days (testosterone) and 2.84 days (cortisol). We found gendered links between nighttime activity and adults' hormone profiles. Contrary to past findings in Euro-American contexts, BaYaka men who were more active at night, on average, had higher evening testosterone than those with lower nighttime activity, with a relatively flat slope relating nighttime activity and evening testosterone in women. Women had steeper diurnal cortisol curves with less disrupted sleep. Men had steeper cortisol diurnal curves if they were more active at night. BaYaka men often hunt and socialize when active at night, which may help explain these patterns. Overall, our findings indicate that the nature of nighttime activities, including their possible social and subsistence contexts, are potentially important modifiers of sleep quality-physiology links, meriting further research across contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- University of Notre Dame, Department of Anthropology, Notre Dame 46556, USA; University of Notre Dame, Eck Institute for Global Health, Notre Dame 46556, USA.
| | - David R Samson
- University of Toronto Mississauga, Department of Anthropology, Mississauga L5L1C6, Canada
| | - Erica Kilius
- University of Toronto Mississauga, Department of Anthropology, Mississauga L5L1C6, Canada
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore 21287, USA
| | - Valchy Miegakanda
- Laboratoire National de Sante Publique, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Adam H Boyette
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Leipzig 04103, Germany
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6
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Susie Lee D, Semenchenko H. Father absence and pubertal timing in Korean boys and girls. Evol Med Public Health 2023; 11:174-184. [PMID: 37325803 PMCID: PMC10266580 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoad010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and objectives Pubertal timing is a key life history trait with long-term health consequences in both sexes. Evolutionary theory has guided extensive research on developmental influences, in particular growing up without a father, on earlier menarche. Far less is known whether a similar relationship exists for boys, especially beyond western contexts. We used longitudinal data from the nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents, which provided us with a unique opportunity for studying male puberty using a hitherto underutilized biomarker: age at first nocturnal ejaculation. Methodology We pre-registered and tested a prediction that growing up in father-absent households is associated with earlier puberty in both sexes. Large sample size (>6000) allowed testing the effect of father absence, which remains relatively uncommon in Korea, while adjusting for potential confounders using Cox proportional-hazard models. Results Self-reported age at first nocturnal ejaculation was on average 13.8 years, falling within the range known from other societies. Unlike previous findings mostly for white girls, we did not find evidence that Korean girls in father-absent households had a younger age at menarche. Boys in father-absent households reported having their first nocturnal ejaculation 3 months earlier on average, and the difference was evident before age 14. Conclusion and implications The association between father absence and pubertal timing appears sex- and age-dependent, and these differences may further interact with cultural norms regarding gender roles. Our study also highlights the utility of the recalled age of first ejaculation for male puberty research, which has lagged in both evolutionary biology and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Susie Lee
- Corresponding author. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Konrad-Zuse Strasse 1, 18057 Rostock, Germany. Tel: +49 381 2081-0; E-mail:
| | - Hanna Semenchenko
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Konrad-Zuse Strasse 1, 18057 Rostock, Germany
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Gettler LT, Rosenbaum S, Kuo PX, Sarma MS, Bechayda SA, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Evidence for an adolescent sensitive period to family experiences influencing adult male testosterone production. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2202874119. [PMID: 35639692 PMCID: PMC9191637 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202874119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Across vertebrates, testosterone is an important mediator of reproductive trade-offs, shaping how energy and time are devoted to parenting versus mating/competition. Based on early environments, organisms often calibrate adult hormone production to adjust reproductive strategies. For example, favorable early nutrition predicts higher adult male testosterone in humans, and animal models show that developmental social environments can affect adult testosterone. In humans, fathers’ testosterone often declines with caregiving, yet these patterns vary within and across populations. This may partially trace to early social environments, including caregiving styles and family relationships, which could have formative effects on testosterone production and parenting behaviors. Using data from a multidecade study in the Philippines (n = 966), we tested whether sons’ developmental experiences with their fathers predicted their adult testosterone profiles, including after they became fathers themselves. Sons had lower testosterone as parents if their own fathers lived with them and were involved in childcare during adolescence. We also found a contributing role for adolescent father–son relationships: sons had lower waking testosterone, before and after becoming fathers, if they credited their own fathers with their upbringing and resided with them as adolescents. These findings were not accounted for by the sons’ own parenting and partnering behaviors, which could influence their testosterone. These effects were limited to adolescence: sons’ infancy or childhood experiences did not predict their testosterone as fathers. Our findings link adolescent family experiences to adult testosterone, pointing to a potential pathway related to the intergenerational transmission of biological and behavioral components of reproductive strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T. Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556
- Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556
- William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 46635
| | - Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Patty X. Kuo
- Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588
| | - Mallika S. Sarma
- Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218
| | - Sonny Agustin Bechayda
- University of San Carlos Office of Population Studies Foundation, Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History, University of San Carlos, 6016 Metro Cebu, Philippines
| | - Thomas W. McDade
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
| | - Christopher W. Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
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8
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Gettler LT, Barr R. Fathers, families, and physiology: Exploring the psychobiological context of fathering. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22267. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.22267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lee T. Gettler
- Department of Anthropology University of Notre Dame Notre Dame Indiana USA
| | - Rachel Barr
- Department of Psychology Georgetown University Washington D.C. USA
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9
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Lee DS, Knittel T, Deschner T, Heistermann M, Higham JP. Testing the role of testosterone versus estrogens in mediating reproductive transitions in female rhesus macaques. Horm Behav 2022; 139:105123. [PMID: 35149292 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In male vertebrates, testosterone is generally known to coordinate reproductive trade-offs, in part by promoting the transition to the next reproduction at the expense of current parental care. The role of testosterone in reproductive transitions has been little tested in female vertebrates, especially in mammals. The present study sought to fill this gap, by first undertaking an experimental study, in which we identified DHT, androstenediol, and in particular etiocholanolone, as fecal androgen metabolites which reflect serum testosterone concentration in female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Using concentrations of fecal etiocholanolone as proxy for circulating testosterone, we then conducted a field study on 46 free-ranging rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, to test if testosterone mediates the trade-off between reproductive transition (a higher chance of reproducing in the next year) and current reproduction (providing more care to current offspring). While the evidence for testosterone was weak, the testing of fecal immunoreactive estrogen metabolites suggested a potential role of estrogen in reproductive trade-offs. We found large individual differences in fecal etiocholanolone concentrations during the early postpartum period that were unexplained even after accounting for sociodemographic factors such as age and dominance rank. Further investigation is needed to understand this variation. Our study suggests that the actions of testosterone in females may not have evolved to fulfil the same role in primate reproductive transitions as it does in males, and we encourage more studies to consider the function of testosterone in reproductive behaviors and life history transitions in females of mammalian taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Susie Lee
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York 10003, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York 10024, NY, USA.
| | - Tina Knittel
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Interim Group Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Deschner
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Interim Group Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Heistermann
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York 10003, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York 10024, NY, USA
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Sobral M, Pacheco F, Perry B, Antunes J, Martins S, Guiomar R, Soares I, Sampaio A, Mesquita A, Ganho-Ávila A. Neurobiological Correlates of Fatherhood During the Postpartum Period: A Scoping Review. Front Psychol 2022; 13:745767. [PMID: 35185716 PMCID: PMC8850250 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.745767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
During the postpartum period, the paternal brain suffers extensive and complex neurobiological alterations, through the experience of father-infant interactions. Although the impact of such experience in the mother has been increasingly studied over the past years, less is known about the neurobiological correlates of fatherhood-that is, the alterations in the brain and other physiological systems associated with the experience of fatherhood. With the present study, we aimed to perform a scoping review of the available literature on the genetic, neuroendocrine, and brain correlates of fatherhood and identify the main gaps in the current knowledge. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science electronic databases were searched for eligible studies on paternal neuroplasticity during the postpartum period, over the past 15 years. Reference lists of relevant key studies and reviews were also hand-searched. The research team independently screened the identified studies based on the established inclusion criteria. Extracted data were analyzed using tables and descriptive synthesis. Among the 29 studies that met our inclusion criteria, the vast majority pertained to neuroendocrine correlates of fatherhood (n = 19), followed by brain activity or connectivity (n = 7), association studies of candidate genes (n = 2), and brain structure correlates (n = 1). Collectively, studies published during the past 15 years suggest the existence of significant endocrine (testosterone, oxytocin, prolactin, and cortisol levels) and neurofunctional alterations (changed activity in several brain networks related to empathy and approach motivation, emotional processing and mentalizing, emotion regulation, dorsal attention, and default mode networks) as a result of fatherhood, as well as preliminary evidence of genetic variability accounting for individual differences during the postpartum period in fathers. No studies were so far published evaluating epigenetic mechanisms associated with the paternal brain, something that was also the focus of the current review. We highlight the need for further research that examines neuroplasticity during the experience of fatherhood and that considers both the interplay between hormones and simultaneous assessment of the different biomarkers (e.g., associations between hormones and neural activity); data collection protocols and assessment times should also be refined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Sobral
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Francisca Pacheco
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Beatriz Perry
- Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Joana Antunes
- Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Sara Martins
- Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Raquel Guiomar
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Isabel Soares
- Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Adriana Sampaio
- Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Ana Mesquita
- Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Ana Ganho-Ávila
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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11
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Gettler LT, Kuo PX, Sarma MS, Lefever JEB, Cummings EM, McKenna JJ, Braungart-Rieker JM. US fathers' reports of bonding, infant temperament and psychosocial stress based on family sleep arrangements. Evol Med Public Health 2022; 9:460-469. [PMID: 35154780 PMCID: PMC8830308 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoab038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and objectives Evolutionary-grounded sleep research has been critical to establishing the mutual dependence of breastfeeding and nighttime sleep proximity for mothers and infants. Evolutionary perspectives on cosleeping also often emphasize the emotional motivations for and potential benefits of sleep proximity, including for parent-infant bonding. However, this potential link between infant sleep location and bonding remains understudied for both mothers and fathers. Moreover, in Euro-American contexts bedsharing has been linked to family stress and difficult child temperament, primarily via maternal reports. We know relatively little about whether paternal psychosocial dynamics differ based on family sleep arrangements, despite fathers and other kin often being present in the cosleeping environment across cultures. Here, we aim to help address some of these gaps in knowledge pertaining to fathers and family sleep arrangements. Methodology Drawing on a sample of Midwestern U.S. fathers (N=195), we collected sociodemographic and survey data to analyze links between infant nighttime sleep location, paternal psychosocial well-being, father-infant bonding, and infant temperament. From fathers’ reports, families were characterized as routinely solitary sleeping, bedsharing, or roomsharing (without bedsharing). Results We found that routinely roomsharing or bedsharing fathers, respectively, reported stronger bonding than solitary sleepers. Bedsharing fathers also reported that their infants had more negative temperaments and also tended to report greater parenting-related stress due to difficulties with their children. Conclusions These cross-sectional results help to highlight how a practice with deep phylogenetic and evolutionary history, such as cosleeping, can be variably expressed within communities with the potential for family-dependent benefits or strains. Evolutionary-grounded cosleeping research has elucidated the intimate connections between mother-infant sleep proximity and breastfeeding. However, some Euro-American research indicates that bedsharing can coincide with family strain and stress. Here, U.S. fathers who routinely roomshared or bedshared, respectively, reported stronger bonds to their babies than solitary sleeping fathers, but bedsharing fathers also reported more negative infant temperament.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.,Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.,William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, USA
| | - Patty X Kuo
- Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - E Mark Cummings
- William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - James J McKenna
- Department of Anthropology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, USA
| | - Julia M Braungart-Rieker
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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12
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Abraham E, Feldman R. The Neural Basis of Human Fatherhood: A Unique Biocultural Perspective on Plasticity of Brain and Behavior. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2022; 25:93-109. [PMID: 35122559 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-022-00381-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
With the growing involvement of fathers in childrearing and the application of neuroscientific tools to research on parenting, there is a need to understand how a father's brain and neurohormonal systems accommodate the transition to parenthood and how such neurobiological changes impact children's mental health, sociality, and family functioning. In this paper, we present a theoretical model on the human father's brain and the neural adaptations that take place when fathers assume an involved role. The neurobiology of fatherhood shows great variability across individuals, societies, and cultures and is shaped to a great extent by bottom-up caregiving experiences and the amount of childrearing responsibilities. Mechanisms of mother-father coparental brain coordination and hormonal correlates of paternal behavior are detailed. Adaptations in the father's brain during pregnancy and across the postpartum year carry long-term implications for children's emotion regulation, stress management, and symptom formation. We propose a new conceptual model of HEALthy Father Brain that describes how a father's brain serves as a source of resilience in the context of family adversity and its capacity to "heal", protect, and foster social brain maturation and functionality in family members via paternal sensitivity, attunement, and support, which, in turn, promote child development and healthy family functioning. Father's brain provides a unique model on neural plasticity as sustained by committed acts of caregiving, thereby affording a novel perspective on the brain basis of human affiliation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eyal Abraham
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, 46150, Herzliya, Israel. .,Department of Psychiatry-Child and Adolescent, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, USA.
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, 46150, Herzliya, Israel. .,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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13
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Condon EM, Dettmer A, Baker E, McFaul C, Stover CS. Early Life Adversity and Males: Biology, Behavior, and Implications for Fathers' Parenting. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104531. [PMID: 35063493 PMCID: PMC9236197 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Fathers have an important and unique influence on child development, but influences on fathers' parenting have been vastly understudied in the scientific literature. In particular, very little empirical research exists on the effects of early life adversity (ELA; e.g. childhood maltreatment, parental separation) on later parenting among fathers. In this review, we draw from both the human and non-human animal literature to examine the effects of ELA, specifically among males, in the following areas: 1) neurobiology and neurocognitive functioning, 2) hormones and hormone receptors, 3) gene-environment interactions and epigenetics, and 4) behavior and development. Based on these findings, we present a conceptual model to describe the biological and behavioral pathways through which exposure to ELA may influence parenting among males, with a goal of guiding future research and intervention development in this area. Empirical studies are needed to improve understanding of the relationship between ELA and father's parenting, inform the development of paternal and biparental interventions, and prevent intergenerational transmission of ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen M Condon
- University of Connecticut School of Nursing, 231 Glenbrook Rd, Storrs CT 06269, United States; Yale Early Stress and Adversity Consortium, United States.
| | - Amanda Dettmer
- Yale Early Stress and Adversity Consortium, United States; Yale Child Study Center, 230 S Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
| | - Ellie Baker
- Yale Child Study Center, 230 S Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06519, United States; Division of Psychology and Language Science, University College London (UCL), 26 Bedford Way, Bloomsbury, London WC1H 0AP, United Kingdom
| | - Ciara McFaul
- Yale Child Study Center, 230 S Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
| | - Carla Smith Stover
- Yale Early Stress and Adversity Consortium, United States; Yale Child Study Center, 230 S Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
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14
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Braren SH, Perry RE, Ribner A, Brandes-Aitken A, Brito N, Blair C. Prenatal mother-father cortisol linkage predicts infant executive functions at 24 months. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22151. [PMID: 34674244 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated associations between prenatal mother-father cortisol linkage and infant executive functions. Data come from an international sample (N = 358) of predominantly white and middle- to upper-class first-time parents. During late pregnancy, parents collected diurnal salivary cortisol samples and reported on levels of psychological stress. At 24 months, children completed a battery of executive function tasks. Parent cortisol linkage was operationalized as the time-dependent, within-dyad association between maternal and paternal diurnal cortisol. Results indicated that prenatal linkage was positively related to infant executive functions, suggesting that stronger mother-father cortisol linkage was associated with higher executive function scores. Additionally, this relation was moderated by paternal average cortisol levels such that executive function scores were lower when fathers had higher average cortisol levels and linkage was weak. This association suggests that elevated paternal cortisol amplifies the negative relation between lower cortisol linkage and lower infant executive function scores. Importantly, these findings were observed while controlling for observational measures of caregiving and self-report measures of psychosocial functioning and infant social-emotional behavior. These results suggest that prenatal linkage of mother's and father's stress physiology plays a potentially important part in programming and regulating infant neurocognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrew Ribner
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, USA
| | | | - Natalie Brito
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, USA
| | - Clancy Blair
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, USA
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- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, USA.,Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, UK.,Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Leiden, The Netherlands
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15
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Bos PA, Lesemann FHP, Spencer H, Stein DJ, van Honk J, Montoya ER. Preliminary data on increased reactivity towards children in distress after testosterone administration in women: A matter of protection? Biol Psychol 2021; 165:108176. [PMID: 34474128 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Emotional reactivity to others' distress is a vital prerequisite for a caring response. Testosterone, in contrast, is mostly associated with protection of personal dominance and decreased responsiveness to others' needs. However, experimental work also indicates that rising testosterone levels in response to infant distress can potentially facilitate protection. We assessed the impact of testosterone administration on participants' emotional reactivity to infants in distress, measuring their facial responses on the corrugator supercilii forehead muscle ('frowning') and the zygomaticus major ('smiling') as an index of emotional responses towards children. Moreover, we probed whether the effect of testosterone is moderated by participants' self-reported nurturance and protective tendencies. Our preliminary results showed that testosterone not only increased emotional reactivity to empathy eliciting images of children, but that this increase was strongest in participants with strong protective tendencies. Our administration study is the first to link testosterone to infant protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter A Bos
- Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Franca H Parianen Lesemann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Hannah Spencer
- Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 15780, 1001 NG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dan J Stein
- SA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, J-Block Groote Schuur Hospital Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jack van Honk
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands; SA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, J-Block Groote Schuur Hospital Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Estrella R Montoya
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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16
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Koop S, Oster H. Eat, sleep, repeat - endocrine regulation of behavioural circadian rhythms. FEBS J 2021; 289:6543-6558. [PMID: 34228879 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The adaptation of organisms to a rhythmic environment is mediated by an internal timing system termed the circadian clock. In mammals, molecular clocks are found in all tissues and organs. This circadian clock network regulates the release of many hormones, which in turn influence some of the most vital behavioural functions. Sleep-wake cycles are under strict circadian control with strong influence of rhythmic hormones such as melatonin, cortisol and others. Food intake, in contrast, receives circadian modulation through hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, insulin and orexin. A third behavioural output covered in this review is mating and bonding behaviours, regulated through circadian rhythms in steroid hormones and oxytocin. Together, these data emphasize the pervasive influence of the circadian clock system on behavioural outputs and its mediation through endocrine networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Koop
- Centre of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Lübeck, Germany
| | - Henrik Oster
- Centre of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Lübeck, Germany
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17
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Gettler LT, Kuo PX, Sarma MS, Trumble BC, Burke Lefever JE, Braungart-Rieker JM. Fathers' oxytocin responses to first holding their newborns: Interactions with testosterone reactivity to predict later parenting behavior and father-infant bonds. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:1384-1398. [PMID: 33860940 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about human fathers' physiology near infants' births. This may represent a period during which paternal psychobiological axes are sensitive to fathers' new experiences of interacting with their newborns and that can provide insights on how individual differences in fathers' biology relate to post-partum parenting. Drawing on a sample of men in South Bend, IN (U.S.), we report results from a longitudinal study of fathers' oxytocin, cortisol, and testosterone (N = 211) responses to their first holding of their infants on the day of birth and men's reported caregiving and father-infant bonding at 2-4 months post-partum (N = 114). First-time fathers' oxytocin was higher following first holding of their newborns, compared to their pre-holding levels. Contrasting with prior results, fathers' percentage change in oxytocin did not differ based on skin-to-skin or standard holding. Drawing on psychobiological frameworks, we modeled the interactions for oxytocin reactivity with testosterone and cortisol reactivity, respectively, in predicting father-infant outcomes months later. We found significant cross-over interactions for (oxytocin × testosterone) in predicting fathers' later post-partum involvement and bonding. Specifically, we found that fathers whose testosterone declined during holding reported greater post-partum play if their oxytocin increased, compared to fathers who experienced increases in both hormones. We also observed a similar non-significant interaction for (oxytocin × cortisol) in predicting fathers' post-partum play. Fathers whose testosterone declined during holding also reported less involvement in direct caregiving and lower father-infant bonding if their oxytocin decreased but greater direct care and bonding if their testosterone increased and oxytocin decreased. The results inform our understanding of the developmental time course of men's physiological responsiveness to father-infant interaction and its relevance to later fathering behavior and family relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.,Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.,William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, USA
| | - Patty X Kuo
- Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | | | - Julia M Braungart-Rieker
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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18
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Cardenas SI, Stoycos SA, Sellery P, Marshall N, Khoddam H, Kaplan J, Goldenberg D, Saxbe DE. Theory of mind processing in expectant fathers: Associations with prenatal oxytocin and parental attunement. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:1549-1567. [PMID: 33748973 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Social cognition may facilitate fathers' sensitive caregiving behavior. We administered the Why-How Task, an fMRI task that elicits theory of mind processing, to expectant fathers (n = 39) who also visited the laboratory during their partner's pregnancy and provided a plasma sample for oxytocin assay. Three months postpartum, fathers reported their beliefs about parenting. When rating "Why" an action was being performed versus "How" the action was being performed (Why > How contrast), participants showed activation in regions theorized to support theory of mind, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and superior temporal sulcus. Fathers' prenatal oxytocin levels predicted greater signal change during the Why > How contrast in the inferior parietal lobule. Both prenatal oxytocin and attunement parenting beliefs were associated with Why > How activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a theory of mind region implicated in emotion regulation. Posterior parahippocampal gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation during the Why > How contrast predicted fathers' attunement parenting beliefs. In conclusion, fathers' neural activation when engaging in a theory of mind task was associated with their prenatal oxytocin levels and their postpartum attunement parenting beliefs. Results suggest biological and cognitive components of fathering may track with the theory of mind processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia I Cardenas
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sarah A Stoycos
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pia Sellery
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Narcis Marshall
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hannah Khoddam
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonas Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Diane Goldenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Darby E Saxbe
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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19
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Baldoni F, Ancora G, Latour JM. Being the Father of a Preterm-Born Child: Contemporary Research and Recommendations for NICU Staff. Front Pediatr 2021; 9:724992. [PMID: 34552898 PMCID: PMC8450441 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2021.724992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Most studies on parental reactions to a preterm birth and to hospitalization of the newborn in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) have involved mothers. However, emotional responses and behaviors of fathers are equally important. Usually, the father is the first to meet the preterm newborn, to find out information about baby's condition and to communicate to the mother and other family members. In this context he is often left alone and can show psychological difficulties including affective disorders such as depression or anxiety. This paper describes the role of fathers in the NICU, the best practices to support fathers, and to explain the role of a psychologist in the NICU staff. Considerations and suggestions are provided on the difficulties encountered to support parents, with a focus on the role of fathers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods and Discussion: Considering contemporary research data and following an attachment perspective, we analyze the role of the father of a preterm-born child in the relation with the partner and in newborn caring. Research has shown that involving fathers in newborn care in NICU and at home is essential not only because it promotes the father/son attachment relationship and has positive effects on the psychological and somatic development of the newborn, but also for the health of the mother and whole family. Conclusion: Recommendations are provided to enhance the functions of fathers in the NICU, promote their involvement in the care of their infant, and interventions to prevent the manifestation of psychological suffering and/or perinatal affective disorders. The commitments of a psychologist in a NICU team are presented and require not only clinical skills, but also the ability to manage the emotional and relational difficulties of fathers, family and NICU staff. Considerations and suggestions are provided on the difficulties encountered by parents in the NICU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franco Baldoni
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Gina Ancora
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Infermi Hospital, Rimini, Italy
| | - Jos M Latour
- Faculty of Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.,Department of Nursing, Hunan Children's Hospital, Changsha, China
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20
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Corpuz R, D'Alessandro S, Collom GKS. The postnatal testosterone rebound in first-time fathers and the quality and quantity of paternal care. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 63:1415-1427. [PMID: 33274434 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In human males, testosterone (T) decreases in the period following the birth of offspring. This decline has been widely interpreted as a facultative neuroendocrine response that facilitates parenting effort. Conversely, research on if (or when) this decline in T would be followed by an eventual recovery and subsequent shift away from parenting effort is lacking. In a U.S. community sample of 225 males transitioning to first-time fatherhood, we measured T at three occasions: third trimester, infant 3 months postnatal, and infant 9-10 months postnatal. Using a piecewise latent growth curve model (GCM), we detected a T rebound from when infants were 3 months old to when infants were 9-10 months old. The slope of this rebound was able to predict paternal care using two distinct measures: (a) an experience sampling method (ESM) that gathered data on paternal time allocation over the course of the study period and (b) independent coders rating fathers for the quality of paternal care during a structured task designed to elicit an infant fear response. As predicted, the more accelerated one's T rebound (slope), the less time fathers invested in their infants across the study period. However, we found a positive relationship between T rebound and quality of paternal care during a challenging activity. Discussion will focus on nuanced reasons that contribute to these findings as well as speculate on the ultimate function of a human paternal T rebound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randy Corpuz
- Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA
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21
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Gettler LT, Boyette AH, Rosenbaum S. Broadening Perspectives on the Evolution of Human Paternal Care and Fathers’ Effects on Children. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ANTHROPOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-102218-011216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Unlike most mammals, human fathers cooperate with mothers to care for young to an extraordinary degree. Human paternal care likely evolved alongside our unique life history strategy of raising slow-developing, energetically costly children, often in rapid succession. Adaptive frameworks generally assume that paternal provisioning played a critical role in this pattern's emergence. We draw on nonhuman primate data to propose that nonprovisioning forms of low-cost hominin male care were potentially foundational and ratcheted up through evolutionary time, helping facilitate social contexts for later subsistence specialization and sharing. We then argue for expanding the breadth of anthropological research on paternal effects in families, particularly in three domains: direct care and teaching;social capital cultivation; and reduction of family conflict. Anthropologists can greatly contribute to conversations about the determinants of children's development across contexts, but we need to ask more expansive questions about the pathways through which caregivers (including fathers) affect child outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T. Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Adam H. Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
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22
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Gettler LT, Lew-Levy S, Sarma MS, Miegakanda V, Boyette AH. Sharing and caring: Testosterone, fathering, and generosity among BaYaka foragers of the Congo Basin. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15422. [PMID: 32963277 PMCID: PMC7508877 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70958-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are rare among mammals in exhibiting paternal care and the capacity for broad hyper-cooperation, which were likely critical to the evolutionary emergence of human life history. In humans and other species, testosterone is often a mediator of life history trade-offs between mating/competition and parenting. There is also evidence that lower testosterone men may often engage in greater prosocial behavior compared to higher testosterone men. Given the evolutionary importance of paternal care and heightened cooperation to human life history, human fathers' testosterone may be linked to these two behavioral domains, but they have not been studied together. We conducted research among highly egalitarian Congolese BaYaka foragers and compared them with their more hierarchical Bondongo fisher-farmer neighbors. Testing whether BaYaka men's testosterone was linked to locally-valued fathering roles, we found that fathers who were seen as better community sharers had lower testosterone than less generous men. BaYaka fathers who were better providers also tended to have lower testosterone. In both BaYaka and Bondongo communities, men in marriages with greater conflict had higher testosterone. The current findings from BaYaka fathers point to testosterone as a psychobiological correlate of cooperative behavior under ecological conditions with evolutionarily-relevant features in which mutual aid and sharing of resources help ensure survival and community health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Family Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
- Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.
- William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, USA.
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Family Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Valchy Miegakanda
- Institut National de Santé Publique, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | - Adam H Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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23
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Storey AE, Alloway H, Walsh CJ. Dads: Progress in understanding the neuroendocrine basis of human fathering behavior. Horm Behav 2020; 119:104660. [PMID: 31883946 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
We outline the progress on the hormonal basis of human paternal behavior during the past twenty years. Advances in understanding the roles of testosterone, prolactin, oxytocin and vasopressin in fathering behavior are described, along with recent research on hormonal interactions, such as those between testosterone and cortisol, and testosterone and the peptide hormones. In addition, we briefly describe the recent leaps forward in elucidating the neurobiological and neuroendocrine basis of fatherhood, made possible by fMRI technology. Emerging from this literature is a developing and complicated story about fatherhood, highlighting the need to further understand the interplay between behavior, physiology, social context, and individual genetic variation. Given the changing roles of parents in many societies, the continued growth of this research area will provide a strong empirical knowledge base about paternal behavior on which to create policies promoting fathers' involvement in their infants' lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne E Storey
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada.
| | - Hayley Alloway
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Graduate Program, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Carolyn J Walsh
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada
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24
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Braren SH, Brandes-Aitken A, Ribner A, Perry RE, Blair C. Maternal psychological stress moderates diurnal cortisol linkage in expectant fathers and mothers during late pregnancy. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 111:104474. [PMID: 31731137 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Using data from a large international sample (N = 385) of first-time expectant parents, the current analysis investigated whether parents demonstrated diurnal cortisol linkage in late pregnancy and whether self-reported psychological stress moderated this linkage. At approximately 36 weeks gestation, mothers and fathers collected saliva samples in their home at three times on two consecutive days and reported on their psychological stress. Results from multilevel models indicated that there was significant positive within-couple diurnal cortisol linkage on average for the whole sample. However, this linkage was moderated by maternal self-reported psychological stress. Specifically, for couples with higher maternal psychological stress, cortisol linkage was strong. Conversely, for couples with lower maternal psychological stress, maternal and paternal cortisol were unrelated. These findings suggest that among higher-maternal-stress couples, lower paternal cortisol may buffer maternal cortisol, whereas higher paternal cortisol may amplify maternal cortisol. Our results support the idea that interpersonal psychological and physiological stress in close relationships is interdependent and mutually influenced. Further, our findings contribute to the field's understanding of interpersonal processes during pregnancy, which may have health-related implications in the prenatal and postnatal periods for both parents and the developing child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen H Braren
- Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene Street, Kimball Hall, 8th Floor, New York University, New York, NY, 10012, United States.
| | - Annie Brandes-Aitken
- Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene Street, Kimball Hall, 8th Floor, New York University, New York, NY, 10012, United States
| | - Andrew Ribner
- Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene Street, Kimball Hall, 8th Floor, New York University, New York, NY, 10012, United States
| | - Rosemarie E Perry
- Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene Street, Kimball Hall, 8th Floor, New York University, New York, NY, 10012, United States
| | - Clancy Blair
- Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene Street, Kimball Hall, 8th Floor, New York University, New York, NY, 10012, United States.
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- Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene Street, Kimball Hall, 8th Floor, New York University, New York, NY, 10012, United States; Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands; University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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25
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Abstract
In recent decades, human sociocultural changes have increased the numbers of fathers that are involved in direct caregiving in Western societies. This trend has led to a resurgence of interest in understanding the mechanisms and effects of paternal care. Across the animal kingdom, paternal caregiving has been found to be a highly malleable phenomenon, presenting with great variability among and within species. The emergence of paternal behaviour in a male animal has been shown to be accompanied by substantial neural plasticity and to be shaped by previous and current caregiving experiences, maternal and infant stimuli and ecological conditions. Recent research has allowed us to gain a better understanding of the neural basis of mammalian paternal care, the genomic and circuit-level mechanisms underlying paternal behaviour and the ways in which the subcortical structures that support maternal caregiving have evolved into a global network of parental care. In addition, the behavioural, neural and molecular consequences of paternal caregiving for offspring are becoming increasingly apparent. Future cross-species research on the effects of absence of the father and the transmission of paternal influences across generations may allow research on the neuroscience of fatherhood to impact society at large in a number of important ways.
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Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Sarma MS, Valchy M, Gettler LT. Fatherhood, egalitarianism, and child health in two small-scale societies in the Republic of the Congo. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23342. [PMID: 31750984 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Revised: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The study goals were to (a) characterize the cultural model of fatherhood among the BaYaka, a community of egalitarian foragers in the Republic of the Congo; (b) test if BaYaka fathers' quality in relation to the cultural model predicts their children's energetic status; and (c) compare the variance in BaYaka children's energetic status to that of children of neighboring Bondongo fisher-farmers, among whom there is less cooperative caregiving, less resource sharing, and greater social inequality. METHODS We used informal interviews to establish the cultural model of fatherhood, which we used to build a peer ranking task to quantify father quality. Children's energetic status was assessed by measuring height, weight, and triceps skinfold thickness. We then tested for associations between father quality scores derived from the ranking task and children's energetic status using ordinary least squares regression. Equality of variance tests were used to compare BaYaka and Bondongo children's energetic statuses. RESULTS The BaYaka described fathers as responsible for acquiring resources and maintaining marital harmony, welcoming others to the community and sharing well with them, and teaching their children about the forest. Agreement on men's quality in these domains was high, but father quality did not significantly predict children's energetic status. BaYaka children had lower variance in energetic status overall compared to Bondongo children. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that the core BaYaka values and practices that maintain egalitarian social relations and distribution of resources help buffer children's health and well-being from variation in their fathers' qualities in culturally valued domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam H Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | | | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, Eck Institute for Global Health, William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
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Alvarado LC, Valeggia CR, Ellison PT, Lewarch CL, Muller MN. A Comparison of men’s Life History, Aging, and Testosterone Levels among Datoga Pastoralists, Hadza Foragers, and Qom Transitional Foragers. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-019-00116-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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28
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Gettler LT, Sarma MS, Lew-Levy S, Bond A, Trumble BC, Boyette AH. Mothers' and fathers' joint profiles for testosterone and oxytocin in a small-scale fishing-farming community: Variation based on marital conflict and paternal contributions. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01367. [PMID: 31385447 PMCID: PMC6749485 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Testosterone and oxytocin are psychobiological mechanisms that interrelate with relationship quality between parents and the quantity and quality of parenting behaviors, thereby affecting child outcomes. Their joint production based on family dynamics has rarely been tested, particularly cross-culturally. METHODS We explored family function and salivary testosterone and oxytocin in mothers and fathers in a small-scale, fishing-farming society in Republic of the Congo. Fathers ranked one another in three domains of family life pertaining to the local cultural model of fatherhood. RESULTS Fathers who were viewed as better providers had relatively lower oxytocin and higher testosterone than men seen as poorer providers, who had lower testosterone and higher oxytocin. Fathers also had higher testosterone and lower oxytocin in marriages with more conflict, while those who had less marital conflict had reduced testosterone and higher oxytocin. In contrast, mothers in conflicted marriages showed the opposite profiles of relatively lower testosterone and higher oxytocin. Mothers had higher oxytocin and lower testosterone if fathers were uninvolved as direct caregivers, while mothers showed an opposing pattern for the two hormones if fathers were seen as involved with direct care. CONCLUSIONS These results shed new light on parents' dual oxytocin and testosterone profiles in a small-scale society setting and highlight the flexibility of human parental psychobiology when fathers' roles and functions within families differ across cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Angela Bond
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.,Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.,Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Adam H Boyette
- Thompson Writing Program, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Leipzig, Germany
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29
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Alarcon R, Yost J, Erickson P, Beckerman S. The Proximate Causes of Waorani Warfare. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2019; 30:247-271. [PMID: 31313088 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-019-09348-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In response to recent work on the nature of human aggression, and to shed light on the proximate, as opposed to ultimate, causes of tribal warfare, we present a record of events leading to a fatal Waorani raid on a family from another tribe, followed by a detailed first-person observation of the behavior of the raiders as they prepared themselves for war, and upon their return. We contrast this attack with other Waorani aggressions and speculate on evidence regarding their hormonal underpinnings. On-the-ground ethnographic observations are examined in light of the neuroendocrinological literature. The evidence suggests a chain of causality in launching lethal violence, beginning with a perceived injury, culminating in a massacre, and terminating in rejoicing. Although no blood or saliva samples were taken at the time of this raid, the behaviors were consistent with a deliberate initiation of the hormonal cascade characterizing the "fight-or-flight" response, along with other hormonal changes. We conclude with observations on the stratified interrelationships of the cognitive, social, emotional, and neuroendocrinological causes of aggression leading to coalitional male homicide.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Pamela Erickson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
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30
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Dixson BJW, Kennedy-Costantini S, Lee AJ, Nelson NL. Mothers are sensitive to men's beards as a potential cue of paternal investment. Horm Behav 2019; 113:55-66. [PMID: 30978339 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Revised: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Mating strategy theories assert that women's preferences for androgen dependent traits in men are stronger when the costs of reduced paternal investment are lowest. Past research has shown that preferences for facial masculinity are stronger among nulliparous and non-pregnant women than pregnant or parous women. In two studies, we examine patterns in women's preferences for men's facial hair - likely the most visually conspicuous and sexually dimorphic of men's secondary sexual traits - when evaluating men's masculinity, dominance, age, fathering, and attractiveness. Two studies were conducted among heterosexual pregnant women, mothers, non-contractive and contraceptive users. Study 1 used a between-subjects sample (N = 2103) and found that mothers had significantly higher preferences for beards when judging fathering than all other women. Pregnant women and mothers also judged beards as more masculine and older, but less attractive, than non-contractive and contraceptive users. Parous women judged beards higher for age, masculinity and fathering, but lower for attractiveness, than nulliparous women. Irrespective of reproductive status, beards were judged as looking more dominant than clean-shaven faces. Study 2 used a within-subjects design (N = 53) among women surveyed during pregnancy and three months post-partum. Judgments of parenting skills were higher for bearded stimuli during pregnancy among women having their first baby, whereas among parous women parenting skills judgments for bearded stimuli were higher post-partum. Our results suggest that mothers are sensitive to beardedness as a masculine secondary sexual characteristic that may denote parental investment, providing evidence that women's mate preferences could reflect sexual selection for direct benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barnaby J W Dixson
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia.
| | | | | | - Nicole L Nelson
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
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31
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Alyousefi-van Dijk K, van 't Veer AE, Meijer WM, Lotz AM, Rijlaarsdam J, Witteman J, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ. Vasopressin Differentially Affects Handgrip Force of Expectant Fathers in Reaction to Own and Unknown Infant Faces. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:105. [PMID: 31164810 PMCID: PMC6536625 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The underlying mechanisms of paternal responses to infant signals are poorly understood. Vasopressin has previously been proposed to affect these responses. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject design (N = 25 expectant fathers), we examined the effect of vasopressin administration on the use of excessive handgrip force during exposure to infant crying versus matched control sounds, while participants saw morphed images representing their own infant versus an unknown infant. We found that, compared to placebo, AVP administration elicited more excessive force while viewing an unknown infant image compared to viewing the image representing one’s own infant, while the reverse was true under placebo. The results are discussed in light of vasopressin’s role in parenting and parental protection among human fathers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Alyousefi-van Dijk
- Clinical Child and Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Anna E van 't Veer
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.,Methodology and Statistics Unit, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Willemijn M Meijer
- Clinical Child and Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Anna M Lotz
- Clinical Child and Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Jolien Rijlaarsdam
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jurriaan Witteman
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.,Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg
- Clinical Child and Family Studies, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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32
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Gettler LT, Sarma MS, Gengo RG, Oka RC, McKenna JJ. Testosterone moderates the effects of social support on cardiovascular disease risk factors among older US men. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23248. [PMID: 31045310 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Revised: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Social support positively affects health through pathways such as shaping intrapersonal emotional and psychological well-being. Lower testosterone often interrelates with psychological and behavioral orientations that are beneficial to participation in emotionally supportive relationships. Yet, little research has considered the ways in which testosterone may contribute to health outcomes related to emotional support. METHODS We draw on testosterone, social support data, and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-relevant indicators (inflammatory markers; blood pressure [BP]) from older men (n = 366) enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a US nationally representative study. We test whether men's testosterone moderates associations between emotional social support and markers related to CVD risk. RESULTS For men with relatively lower testosterone, higher levels of social support predicted lower white blood cell (WBC) counts, consistent with reduced inflammation. In contrast, men with higher testosterone exhibited elevated WBC counts with greater support. In a diverging pattern, men with lower testosterone had higher systolic and diastolic BP with higher support, whereas the slopes for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively, were comparatively flatter for men with higher levels of testosterone. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that our findings are theoretically consistent with the idea that testosterone helps shape intrapersonal and interpersonal experiences and perceptions of men's emotional support networks, thereby affecting the health implications of that support. The somewhat divergent results for WBC count vs BP highlight the need for inclusion of other neuroendocrine markers alongside testosterone as well as refined measures of perceived and received support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | - Rieti G Gengo
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,Helen B. Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | - Rahul C Oka
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,Helen B. Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | - James J McKenna
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
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Rosenbaum S, Gettler LT. With a little help from her friends (and family) part II: Non-maternal caregiving behavior and physiology in mammals. Physiol Behav 2019; 193:12-24. [PMID: 29933837 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The diversity of competing frameworks for explaining the evolution of non-maternal care in mammals (Part I, this issue) reflects the vast range of behaviors and associated outcomes these theories attempt to subsume. Caretaking comprises a wide variety of behavioral domains, and is mediated by an equally large range of physiological systems. In Part II, we provide an overview of how non-maternal care in mammals is expressed, the ways in which it is regulated, and the many effects such care has on both recipients and caretakers. We also discuss the two primary ways in which closer integration of ultimate and proximate levels of explanation can be useful when addressing questions about non-maternal caretaking. Specifically, proximate mechanisms provide important functional clues, and are key to testing theory concerning evolutionary tradeoffs. Finally, we highlight a number of methodological and publication biases that currently shape the literature, which provide opportunities for knowledge advancement in this domain going forward. In this conclusion to our two-part introduction, we provide a broad survey of the behavior and physiology that the contributions to this special issue represent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States; Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States; The Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States
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Rosenbaum S, Gettler LT. With a little help from her friends (and family) part I: the ecology and evolution of non-maternal care in mammals. Physiol Behav 2019; 193:1-11. [PMID: 29933836 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
In the class Mammalia, most young are cared for exclusively by their mothers. In species where mothers receive help, however, non-maternal caregivers may play a crucial role in development and life history trajectories. In turn, recipients of such care may have important impacts on caregivers of all types. In Part I of this overview, we briefly review the evolutionary barriers to widespread non-maternal care in mammals, and explain why the exceptions are of particular theoretical importance. We also summarize the current understanding of the selective forces leading to non-maternal care, and the taxa and types of caretakers amongst which it occurs. Finally, we argue for a fresh look at the categorization schemes that have traditionally been used to separate various types of mammalian non-maternal caregivers. This two-part introduction is aimed at scientists from multiple disciplines who study diverse organismal systems. It draws from the social and biological sciences literatures to provide an overview of this special issue of Physiology and Behavior's suite of methodological offerings and theoretical underpinnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States; Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States; The Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States
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35
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Gettler LT, Kuo PX, Rosenbaum S, Avila JL, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Sociosexuality, testosterone, and life history status: prospective associations and longitudinal changes among men in Cebu, Philippines. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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36
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Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Sarma MS, Gettler LT. Testosterone, fathers as providers and caregivers, and child health: Evidence from fisher-farmers in the Republic of the Congo. Horm Behav 2019; 107:35-45. [PMID: 30268885 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Revised: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Males in vertebrate species with biparental care commonly face a life history trade-off between investing in mating versus parenting effort. Among these males, testosterone is frequently elevated during mating and competition and reduced when males help raise offspring. These physiological patterns may be adaptive, increasing males' fitness through investments in young. However, for some species, including humans, indirect parenting often benefits young but can also involve male competition and risk-taking behavior and may be facilitated by elevated testosterone. Despite potential adaptive functions of biological responses to invested fatherhood, few if any mammalian studies have linked fathers' testosterone to offspring outcomes; no studies in humans have. Using data from a small-scale society of fisher-farmers from the Republic of the Congo, we find that fathers who were rated as better providers by their peers had higher testosterone, compared to other fathers in their community. However, children whose fathers had middle-range T compared to fathers with higher or lower levels had better energetic status (higher BMI; greater triceps skinfold thickness). Fathers' indirect and direct care helped to account for these associations between paternal T and children's energetic profiles. Given that human paternal direct and, especially, indirect care are thought to have been important evolutionarily and remain so in many contemporary societies, these findings help to shed light on the facultative nature of human biological responses to fatherhood and the relevance of these factors to children's well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam H Boyette
- Thompson Writing Program, Duke University, Box 90025, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane CB2 3RQ, United Kingdom.
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; Eck Institute for Global Health, USA; William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
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37
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Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Gettler LT. Dimensions of Fatherhood in a Congo Basin Village: A Multimethod Analysis of Intracultural Variation in Men’s Parenting and Its Relevance for Child Health. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1086/700717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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38
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Fisher D, Khashu M, Adama EA, Feeley N, Garfield CF, Ireland J, Koliouli F, Lindberg B, Nørgaard B, Provenzi L, Thomson-Salo F, van Teijlingen E. Fathers in neonatal units: Improving infant health by supporting the baby-father bond and mother-father coparenting. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnn.2018.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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39
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Kuo PX, Braungart-Rieker JM, Burke Lefever JE, Sarma MS, O'Neill M, Gettler LT. Fathers' cortisol and testosterone in the days around infants' births predict later paternal involvement. Horm Behav 2018; 106:28-34. [PMID: 30165061 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Human paternal behavior is multidimensional, and extant research has yet to delineate how hormone patterns may be related to different dimensions of fathering. Further, although studies vary in their measurement of hormones (i.e., basal or reactivity), it remains unclear whether basal and/or reactivity measures are predictive of different aspects of men's parenting. We examined whether men's testosterone and cortisol predicted fathers' involvement in childcare and play with infants and whether fathers' testosterone and cortisol changed during fathers' first interaction with their newborn. Participants were 298 fathers whose partners gave birth in a UNICEF-designated "baby-friendly" hospital, which encourages fathers to hold their newborns 1 h after birth, after mothers engage in skin-to-skin holding. Salivary testosterone and cortisol were measured before and after fathers' first holding of their newborns. Basal and short-term changes in cortisol and testosterone were analyzed. Fathers were contacted 2-4 months following discharge to complete questionnaires about childcare involvement. Fathers' cortisol decreased during the time they held their newborns on the birthing unit. Fathers' basal testosterone in the immediate postnatal period predicted their greater involvement in childcare. Both basal and reactivity cortisol predicted fathers' greater involvement in childcare and play. Results suggest that reduced basal testosterone is linked with enhanced paternal indirect and direct parenting effort months later, and that higher basal cortisol and increases in cortisol in response to newborn interaction are predictive of greater paternal involvement in childcare and play, also months later. Findings are discussed in the context of predominating theoretical models on parental neuroendocrinology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patty X Kuo
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United States of America; William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 46635, United States of America.
| | - Julia M Braungart-Rieker
- William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 46635, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United States of America
| | - Jennifer E Burke Lefever
- William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 46635, United States of America
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United States of America
| | - Molly O'Neill
- Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United States of America
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United States of America; William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 46635, United States of America; The Eck Institute of Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United States of America.
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Rosenbaum S, Gettler LT, McDade TW, Bechayda SS, Kuzawa CW. Does a man's testosterone “rebound” as dependent children grow up, or when pairbonds end? A test in Cebu, Philippines. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 30:e23180. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology Northwestern University Evanston Illinois
| | - Lee T. Gettler
- Department of Anthropology University of Notre Dame Notre Dame Indiana
- Eck Institute for Global Health University of Notre Dame Notre Dame Indiana
| | - Thomas W. McDade
- Department of Anthropology Northwestern University Evanston Illinois
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University Evanston Illinois
| | - Sonny S. Bechayda
- Office of Population Studies University of San Carlos Cebu Philippines
- Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History University of San Carlos Cebu Philippines
| | - Christopher W. Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology Northwestern University Evanston Illinois
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University Evanston Illinois
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Gray PB, Reece JA, Coore-Desai C, Dinnall-Johnson T, Pellington S, Bateman A, Samms-Vaughan M. Patterns and predictors of depressive symptoms among Jamaican fathers of newborns. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2018; 53:1063-1070. [PMID: 30062481 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-018-1566-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Approximately 10% of fathers in the Cultural West (i.e., US, Europe, and Australia) experience depression. We broaden the cultural scope of paternal depression research by investigating the prevalence and predictors of depressive symptoms among Jamaican fathers. METHODS The present research draws upon structured interviews with 3425 fathers of newborn children participating in a Jamaican birth cohort study-JA Kids-and represents one of the largest sample sizes of any study on postnatal depression among fathers worldwide. This sample of fathers participated from July to September 2011, and represents approximately 30% of all men who became fathers during that time in Jamaica. Fathers answered questions about sociodemographic background, relationship status and quality, social support, health, expectations and views of a partner's pregnancy, and the ten-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). RESULTS Analyses reveal that 9.1% (95% CI 8.1-10.1) of these Jamaican fathers of newborns had EPDS scores of 10 or higher, indicative of possible depression. Results suggest that educational attainment was not related to EPDS scores, though higher indices of material wealth (e.g., refrigerator and vehicle) were weakly, negatively related to EDS scores. Paternal age was also weakly negatively predictive of EDS scores. Whereas relationship status was unrelated to depressive symptoms, relationship quality negatively predicted depressive symptoms. Several other measures of social support (lacking a close circle of friends, fewer family, or friends to help in times of trouble) were also associated with higher EPDS scores. CONCLUSIONS We interpret these findings in light of existing work on paternal depression, including the importance of social context and support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter B Gray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway Box 455003, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5003, USA.
| | - Jody-Ann Reece
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica
| | - Charlene Coore-Desai
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica
| | - Twana Dinnall-Johnson
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica
| | - Sydonnie Pellington
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica
| | - Andre Bateman
- University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica
| | - Maureen Samms-Vaughan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica
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Gettler LT, Kuo PX, Bechayda SA. Fatherhood and psychobiology in the Philippines: Perspectives on joint profiles and longitudinal changes of fathers' estradiol and testosterone. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 30:e23150. [PMID: 30251281 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Revised: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Research on the psychobiology of partnering and fathering has focused on testosterone (T), oxytocin, and prolactin (PRL) as mechanisms that potentially mediate life history trade-offs related to those roles. Less is known about other hormones that might be responsive to life history transitions and implicated in fathering, such as estradiol (E2). We examined how E2 changed during the transition to marriage and fatherhood, its correlation with fathers' caregiving, and its joint within-individual production with other hormones (T, PRL). METHODS Data were collected from a total of 913 Filipino men (aged 25.9 years ± 0.3 SD at follow-up) enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study. Morning saliva samples collected at baseline (2005) and follow-up (2009) were assayed for T and E2 (n = 329), dried blood spots from baseline were assayed for PRL. Fathers reported on caregiving in 2009. RESULTS When compared with men who remained single non-fathers over the study period, men who became married residential fathers experienced larger declines in E2. This effect was non-significant when we controlled for longitudinal changes in T. E2 was not significantly related to fathers' caregiving, controlling for T. In cross-sectional analyses for PRL, T, and E2, married residential fathers exhibited within-individual profiles of reduced T and elevated PRL, whereas single non-fathers exhibited the opposite profile of elevated T and reduced PRL. CONCLUSIONS Our findings point to the need for future research to consider the mutually regulatory dynamics and/or combinatorial implications of multiple physiological axes acting within individuals to underpin life history trade-offs and behavioral strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,The Eck Institute of Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana.,The Eck Institute of Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
| | - Patty X Kuo
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.,William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana
| | - Sonny Agustin Bechayda
- USC Office of Population Studies Foundation, and Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines
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Sarma MS, Kuo PX, Bechayda SA, Kuzawa CW, Gettler LT. Exploring the links between early life and young adulthood social experiences and men's later life psychobiology as fathers. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:82-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Abraham E, Feldman R. The neurobiology of human allomaternal care; implications for fathering, coparenting, and children's social development. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:25-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Revised: 12/16/2017] [Accepted: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Tecot SR, Baden AL. Profiling caregivers: Hormonal variation underlying allomaternal care in wild red-bellied lemurs, Eulemur rubriventer. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:135-148. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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Parental hormones are associated with crop loss and family sickness following catastrophic flooding in lowland Bolivia. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:101-107. [PMID: 29730037 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.02.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2017] [Revised: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The physiology of fatherhood is a growing field of study, and variability in hormonal mediators of reproductive effort (e.g. testosterone, cortisol) can predict variability in paternal investment. Studies often find that lower testosterone levels are associated with increased paternal investment, though most studies are conducted under relatively stable ecological conditions. In this paper, we examine parental physiological correlates of crop loss and family health problems among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists following a catastrophic flood in lowland Bolivia. Immediately after a devastating 2014 flood that impacted >75% of Tsimane communities, we conducted structured interviews examining crop losses and morbidity, and collected saliva specimens from 421 parents (n = 292 households) to analyze cortisol and testosterone. Over 98% of interviewees reported horticultural losses, with the average family losing 88% of their crops, while 80% of families reported flood-induced injuries or illnesses. Controlling for age, body mass index, and time of specimen collection, men's testosterone was negatively associated with both absolute cropland losses (Std. β = -0.16, p = 0.037), and percent of cropland lost (Std. β = -0.16, p = 0.040). Female testosterone was not associated with crop losses. Using the same control variables, both male and female cortisol was negatively associated with a composite measure of child health burden (fathers: Std. β = -0.34, p < 0.001; mothers: Std. β = -0.23, p = 0.037). These results are discussed in the cultural context of a strong sexual division of labor among Tsimane; we highlight the physiological and psychosocial costs of experiencing a natural disaster, especially for paternal caregivers in a nutritionally and pathogenically stressed subsistence population where cultigens provide the majority of calories in the diet.
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Testosterone and Jamaican Fathers : Exploring Links to Relationship Dynamics and Paternal Care. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2018; 28:201-218. [PMID: 28074406 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-016-9283-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This paper investigates relationships between men's testosterone and family life in a sample of approximately 350 Jamaican fathers of children 18-24 months of age. The study recognizes the role of testosterone as a proximate mechanism coordinating and reflecting male life history allocations within specific family and cultural contexts. A sample of Jamaican fathers and/or father figures reported to an assessment center for an interview based on a standardized questionnaire and provided a saliva sample for measuring testosterone level. Outcomes measured include subject demographics such as age and relationship status as well as partnership quality and sexuality and paternal attitudes and behavior. The variation in these fathers' relationship status (e.g., married co-residential fathers, fathers in new non-residential relationships) was not associated with men's testosterone. Too few stepfathers participated to enable a direct test of the prediction that stepfathers would have higher testosterone than biological fathers, although fathers who reported living with partners' (but not his own) children did not have higher testosterone than fathers not reporting residing with a non-biological child. Fathers' relationship quality was negatively related to their testosterone. Measures of paternal attitudes and behavior were not related to fathers' testosterone. Consistent with previous ethnography, this sample of Jamaican fathers exhibited variable life history profiles, including residential status. We discuss why fathers' relationship quality was found to be negatively related to their testosterone level, but other predictions were not upheld.
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Ivanov N, Vuong J, Gray PB. A Content Analysis of Testosterone Websites: Sex, Muscle, and Male Age-Related Thematic Differences. Am J Mens Health 2018; 12:388-397. [PMID: 29025355 PMCID: PMC5818115 DOI: 10.1177/1557988317734667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Male testosterone supplementation is a large and growing industry. How is testosterone marketed to male consumers online? The present exploratory study entailed a content coding analysis of the home pages of 49 websites focused on testosterone supplementation for men in the United States. Four hypotheses concerning anticipated age-related differences in content coding were also tested: more frequent longevity content toward older men, and more frequent social dominance/physical formidability, muscle, and sex content toward younger men. Codes were created based on inductive observations and drawing upon the medical, life history, and human behavioral endocrinology literatures. Approximately half ( n = 24) of websites were oriented toward younger men (estimated audience of men 40 years of age or younger) and half ( n = 25) toward older men (estimated audience over 40 years of age). Results indicated that the most frequent content codes concerned online sales (e.g., product and purchasing information). Apart from sales information, the most frequent codes concerned, in order, muscle, sex/sexual functioning, low T, energy, fat, strength, aging, and well-being, with all four hypotheses also supported. These findings are interpreted in the light of medical, evolutionary life history, and human behavioral endocrinology approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Ivanov
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - Jimmy Vuong
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - Peter B. Gray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
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Horrell ND, Hickmott PW, Saltzman W. Neural Regulation of Paternal Behavior in Mammals: Sensory, Neuroendocrine, and Experiential Influences on the Paternal Brain. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2018; 43:111-160. [PMID: 30206901 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2018_55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Across the animal kingdom, parents in many species devote extraordinary effort toward caring for offspring, often risking their lives and exhausting limited resources. Understanding how the brain orchestrates parental care, biasing effort over the many competing demands, is an important topic in social neuroscience. In mammals, maternal care is necessary for offspring survival and is largely mediated by changes in hormones and neuropeptides that fluctuate massively during pregnancy, parturition, and lactation (e.g., progesterone, estradiol, oxytocin, and prolactin). In the relatively small number of mammalian species in which parental care by fathers enhances offspring survival and development, males also undergo endocrine changes concurrent with birth of their offspring, but on a smaller scale than females. Thus, fathers additionally rely on sensory signals from their mates, environment, and/or offspring to orchestrate paternal behavior. Males can engage in a variety of infant-directed behaviors that range from infanticide to avoidance to care; in many species, males can display all three behaviors in their lifetime. The neural plasticity that underlies such stark changes in behavior is not well understood. In this chapter we summarize current data on the neural circuitry that has been proposed to underlie paternal care in mammals, as well as sensory, neuroendocrine, and experiential influences on paternal behavior and on the underlying circuitry. We highlight some of the gaps in our current knowledge of this system and propose future directions that will enable the development of a more comprehensive understanding of the proximate control of parenting by fathers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan D Horrell
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Peter W Hickmott
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Wendy Saltzman
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
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Dixson BJW, Lee AJ, Blake KR, Jasienska G, Marcinkowska UM. Women's preferences for men's beards show no relation to their ovarian cycle phase and sex hormone levels. Horm Behav 2018; 97:137-144. [PMID: 29129624 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Revised: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
According to the ovulatory shift hypothesis, women's mate preferences for male morphology indicative of competitive ability, social dominance, and/or underlying health are strongest at the peri-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. However, recent meta-analyses are divided on the robustness of such effects and the validity of the often-used indirect estimates of fertility and ovulation has been called into question in methodological studies. In the current study, we test whether women's preferences for men's beardedness, a cue of male sexual maturity, androgenic development and social dominance, are stronger at the peri-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle compared to during the early follicular or the luteal phase. We also tested whether levels of estradiol, progesterone, and the estradiol to progesterone ratio at each phase were associated with facial hair preferences. Fifty-two heterosexual women completed a two-alternative forced choice preference test for clean-shaven and bearded male faces during the follicular, peri-ovulatory (validated by the surge in luteinizing hormone or the drop in estradiol levels) and luteal phases. Participants also provided for one entire menstrual cycle daily saliva samples for subsequent assaying of estradiol and progesterone. Results showed an overall preference for bearded over clean-shaven faces at each phase of the menstrual cycle. However, preferences for facial hair were not significantly different over the phases of menstrual cycle and were not significantly associated with levels of reproductive hormones. We conclude that women's preferences for men's beardedness may not be related to changes in their likelihood of conception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barnaby J W Dixson
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Anthony J Lee
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
| | - Khandis R Blake
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney, Australia
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Urszula M Marcinkowska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
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