Gender Ideology, Same-Sex Peer Group Affiliation and the Relationship Between Testosterone and Dominance in Adolescent Boys and Girls

Abstract

Summary.Although the role of testosterone in the aetiology of social dominance is often suggested, surprisingly few studies have addressed the relationship between sex steroid hormones and dominance as a personality trait. In this paper, the relationship between testosterone and dominance is studied in a sample of adolescent boys and girls, taking into account the moderating role of gender ideology and same-sex peer group orientation. A direct association between free testosterone (FT) and dominance was found in girls but not in boys. In boys, masculine ideology moderated the relationship between FT and dominance, while in girls the relationship between FT and dominance was moderated by same-sex peer group affiliation.

Does students' machismo fit in school? Clarifying the implications of traditional gender role ideology for school belonging

“…The present study seeks to bridge this gap by considering traditional gender role ideology (TGRI) as one indicator of macho attitude that predicts sense of school belonging. The explicit distinction made between masculine and feminine roles in relation to meaningful domains of adult life -traditional gender ideology -may be considered masculine, but may also be confirmed by some girls (Vermeersch et al, 2010). As far as we know, this study is unique in relating gender role ideology to sense of school belonging to explain the gender achievement gap.…”

“…TGRI was considered to be an indicator of a macho masculinity next to other features such as homophobia and heterosexuality (Pascoe 2007) which we were unfortunately lacking in the data at hand. We definitely do not equate gender role ideology to hegemonic masculinity, but we do believe that Connell's theory gives support to the assertion that a TGRI, including a desire for masculine dominance, a manifest support for sex inequality and an overt disapproval of cross-gender behaviour, is associated with negative or macho masculinity (Connell 1995;King and King 1997;Schrock and Schwalbe 2009;Vermeersch et al, 2010). We assumed that boys with traditional ideas about gender roles would record lower levels of school belonging.…”

“…It was measured by means of a 5-point (0-4) scale that includes 15 items. Examples of the items are 'What disturbs me, is a boy behaving as a girl', 'Women should first consider their children, and only then their career' or 'There is something wrong with a boy practicing ballet during leisure time' (see Table A1 for the complete measurement scale) (King and King 1997;Vermeersch et al, 2010). Higher scores imply less egalitarian gender role attitudes.…”

The role of testosterone in social interaction

“…Answering this question has recently become possible through the advent of valid tools for measuring bioactive steroid hormones in human saliva. Indeed, measurements of testosterone at a single time-point correlate positively with high dominance in both adolescents [19,20] and adults [21,22]. In addition, salivary testosterone levels correlate with implicit measures of power motivation [23] and increased vigilance for status threats [24,25].…”

Testosterone and Its Effects on Human Male Adolescent Mood and Behavior: A Systematic Review

“…The three studies in group C focused on different aspects of self-image and competency and included two from Vermeersch's group that reported on the same study sample [21,22]. None found significant associations between testosterone and measures of self-image or competence.…”