Hair and Salivary Testosterone, Hair Cortisol, and Externalizing Behaviors in Adolescents.

ABSTRACT: Although testosterone is associated with aggression in the popular imagination, previous research on the links between testosterone and human aggression has been inconsistent. This inconsistency might be because testosterone's effects on aggression depend on other moderators. In a large adolescent sample ( N = 984, of whom 460 provided hair samples), we examined associations between aggression and salivary testosterone, hair testosterone, and hair cortisol. Callous-unemotional traits, parental monitoring, and peer environment were examined as potential moderators of hormone-behavior associations. Salivary testosterone was not associated with aggression. Hair testosterone significantly predicted increased aggression, particularly at low levels of hair cortisol (i.e., Testosterone × Cortisol

SUBMITTER: Grotzinger AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5945305 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature