Individual variation in fathers’ testosterone reactivity to infant distress predicts parenting behaviors with their 1‐year‐old infants

Abstract

Positive father involvement is associated with positive child outcomes. There is great variation in fathers’ involvement and fathering behaviors, and men’s testosterone (T) has been proposed as a potential biological contributor to paternal involvement. Previous studies investigating testosterone changes in response to father-infant interactions or exposure to infant cues are unclear as to whether individual variation in T is predictive of fathering behavior. We show that individual variation in fathers’ T reactivity to their infants during a challenging laboratory paradigm (Strange Situation) uniquely predicted fathers’ positive parenting behaviors during a subsequent father-infant interaction, in addition to other psychosocial determinants of paternal involvement, such as dispositional empathy and marital quality. The findings have implications for understanding fathering behaviors and how fathers can contribute to their children’s socioemotional development.

Prospective and dyadic associations between expectant parents’ prenatal hormone changes and postpartum parenting outcomes

“…For instance, in one laboratory study, men reported greater concern in response to infant cries to the extent that they showed larger reductions in testosterone after listening to those cries; however, as in the current study, men's initial baseline testosterone levels were unrelated to their level of concern (Storey et al, ). Kuo and colleagues () similarly found that fathers who showed larger testosterone declines while interacting with their infant during a stressful laboratory task were more positively engaged with their infants in a subsequent teaching task; again, initial (pre‐task) testosterone levels were unrelated to fathers’ behavior in the teaching task. Short‐term changes in hormones as a function of a laboratory task likely reflect different processes than those that occur over longer periods of time during life transitions such as pregnancy; however, these findings highlight the importance of measuring not only baseline or initial hormone levels but also the extent to which hormones change over time, in both the short‐ and long‐term, as a function of life experiences and contextual influences.…”

Does a man's testosterone “rebound” as dependent children grow up, or when pairbonds end? A test in Cebu, Philippines

“…The average age of men's youngest children in 2014 was 3.7 years. Because of rapid developmental changes during the toddler years, children of this age are more independent than they are at 1.9 years (the mean youngest child age in 2009), but 3‐4‐year‐old children still require extensive care and patience, both of which may be facilitated by lower T (eg, Crnic & Booth, ; Gettler et al, ; Kuo et al, ).…”

Testosterone and reproductive effort in male primates

“…By contrast, when men hear infant cries while engaging in nurturant behavior, their testosterone levels decline (Kuo et al 2015, van Anders et al 2014). One interpretation of these results is that when men hear infant cries, but are unable to respond to them, cries are perceived as evidence of a threat to the infant that necessitates an aggressive, protective response (van Anders et al 2011).…”

“…One interpretation of these results is that when men hear infant cries, but are unable to respond to them, cries are perceived as evidence of a threat to the infant that necessitates an aggressive, protective response (van Anders et al 2011). Alternatively, testosterone increases in this context could result from men perceiving infant cries as a kind of social provocation (Kuo et al 2015). …”