Do sex hormones at birth predict later-life economic preferences? Evidence from a pregnancy birth cohort study.

ABSTRACT: Economic preferences may be shaped by exposure to sex hormones around birth. Prior studies of economic preferences and numerous other phenotypic characteristics use digit ratios (2D : 4D), a purported proxy for prenatal testosterone exposure, whose validity has recently been questioned. We use direct measures of neonatal sex hormones (testosterone and oestrogen), measured from umbilical cord blood (n = 200) to investigate their association with later-life economic preferences (risk preferences, competitiveness, time preferences and social preferences) in an Australian cohort (Raine Study Gen2). We find no significant associations between testosterone at birth and preferences, except for competitiveness, where the effect runs opposite to the expected direction. Point estimates

SUBMITTER: van Leeuwen B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7779492 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature