Before, During, and After: How Phases of Competition Differentially Affect Testosterone, Cortisol, and Estradiol Levels in Women Athletes

Casto, Kathleen V.; Edwards, David A.

doi:10.1007/s40750-015-0028-2

Cited by 46 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Since previous work suggests that engaging in intrasexual competition increases women's testosterone and cortisol (Bateup et al, 2002;Casto & Edwards, in press), we also ran an additional model with cortisol as the only predictor. This model did not show a significant within-subject effect of cortisol (t = 0.73, unstandardized beta = 0.108, p = .47).…”

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confidence: 99%

A longitudinal analysis of women’s salivary testosterone and intrasexual competitiveness

Hahn

Fisher

Cobey

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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indicating that women reported greater intrasexual competitiveness when testosterone was high. By contrast, there were no significant effects of estradiol, progesterone, estradiol-toprogesterone ratio, or cortisol and no significant effects of any hormones on reported relationship jealousy. This is the first study to demonstrate correlated changes in measured testosterone levels and women's reported intrasexual competitiveness, implicating testosterone in the regulation of women's intrasexual competitiveness.

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confidence: 99%

A longitudinal analysis of women’s salivary testosterone and intrasexual competitiveness

Hahn

Fisher

Cobey

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…These findings are consistent with more than a decade of research on hormonal responses to athletic competition in highly-trained women across a wide array of sports (e.g., Bateup et al 2002;Casto et al 2014;Edwards et al 2006;Edwards and Kurlander 2010;Gonzalez-Bono et al 1999;Hamilton et al 2009;Suay et al 1999). The implications and potential function of short-term increases in T and C during competition are discussed elsewhere (Casto et al 2014;Casto and Edwards 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But, ritualized reconciliation behaviors in the form of shaking or slapping hands after sports competitions are intended to foster sportsmanship, that is, fairness, respect, and graciousness in winning and losing, particularly in behaviors towards an opponent. T and C increase substantially over the course of competition and then begin to decline immediately afterwards (e.g., Casto and Edwards 2015;Elias 1981). But the relationship between these changes and after-competition attitudes towards reconciliation has never been tested.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testosterone and Reconciliation Among Women: After-Competition Testosterone Predicts Prosocial Attitudes Towards Opponents

Casto

Edwards

2015

Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology

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Higher levels of testosterone (T) are thought to promote aggressive and/or antisocial behavior as a means of achieving or maintaining social status. However, recent research has begun to explore the association between T and more prosocial behaviors relevant to social status. Reconciliation after conflict is a prosocial behavior that has become ritualized in sporting contexts. T and cortisol (C) increase in association with athletic competition, but the relationship between these hormones and the willingness to reconcile with one's opponent after athletic competition has never been tested. Members of a women's soccer team gave saliva samples associated with two intercollegiate competitions, one victory and one defeat. Samples were subsequently assayed for T and C. Before giving the final saliva sample after each match, participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure willingness to reconcile with a recent opponent -the Attitudes Towards Opponents (ATO) questionnaire. T and C levels increased during competition, but decreased in the 30-min period after the end of play. ATO scores were higher, on average, after the win compared to the loss. ATO scores showed a strong positive correlation with after-game changes in T level in both matches. Win or lose, women whose T remained relatively high after the end of the match were more willing to reconcile with their opponent than women whose T levels declined more precipitously. There were no relationships between C and ATO scores. At least in women, T may motivate aftercompetition behaviors that promote status through social cohesion rather than overt aggression or dominance.

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“…Evidence suggests that testosterone can promote prosocial behaviors under certain contexts, such as when interacting with in-group versus out-group members (e.g., Diekhof, Wittmer, & Reimers, 2014;Reimers & Diekhof, 2015), reciprocating prosocial behavior (Boksem et al, 2013;Dreher, Dunne, Pazderska, Frodl, & Nolan, 2016), or (in women) reconciling after a conflict or competition (Casto & Edwards, 2016). However, despite attempts at formulating models outlining the functions of testosterone (e.g., Eisenegger, Haushofer, & Fehr, 2011;van Anders, Goldey, & Kuo, 2011), the contexts and individual differences according to which testosterone promotes positive versus negative behaviors remain unclear (see discussion in Hamilton, Carré, Mehta, Olmstead, & Whitaker, 2015).…”

Section: Social and Affective Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Directions in Human Behavioral Endocrinology

Welling

Shackelford

2019

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioral Endocrinology

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Research within behavioral endocrinology has produced substantial advances over the past few decades. Knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved in human behavior informs evolutionary perspectives on selection pressures in our ancestral past, which encourages the development of more complete theories and more refined research questions. Yet, despite these advances, many unanswered questions remain. This chapter outlines broad suggestions for future hormone research within the topics of development and survival, reproductive behavior, and social and affective behavior. It concludes with several general suggestions for the field, including more research using hormonal assays, longitudinal and experimental designs, exogenous hormone administration, and cross-cultural work. It also suggests that researchers continue to consider the function of other endocrine traits (e.g., carrier proteins) and measure or manipulate hormones in combination with assessing hormone receptor genes. Behavioral endocrinology is a field replete with important future research directions that will contribute important insights into the evolution of our own and other species.

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Before, During, and After: How Phases of Competition Differentially Affect Testosterone, Cortisol, and Estradiol Levels in Women Athletes

Cited by 46 publications

References 49 publications

A longitudinal analysis of women’s salivary testosterone and intrasexual competitiveness

A longitudinal analysis of women’s salivary testosterone and intrasexual competitiveness

Testosterone and Reconciliation Among Women: After-Competition Testosterone Predicts Prosocial Attitudes Towards Opponents

Future Directions in Human Behavioral Endocrinology

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