Although increasing numbers of gay and lesbian individuals ultimately become parents, the vast majority of research on the transition to parenthood focuses exclusively on heterosexual samples. Even less is known about the physiological implications of this major life transition among those who identify as sexual minorities. The present study begins to redress these gaps in the literature by assessing prospective links between prenatal testosterone, a steroid hormone that is negatively associated with nurturance and caregiving, and postpartum outcomes in a sample of 25 first-time expectant lesbian couples (N = 50 individuals). Consistent with prior work in heterosexual samples, which suggests that lower testosterone promotes both partnering and parenting, we found that, in both partners, lower testosterone during the prenatal period predicted better romantic relationship and parenting outcomes at three-months postpartum (e.g., higher relationship quality, more time spent doing baby care). There was also evidence for dyadic associations; for instance, birth mothers reported more overprotective behavior, and non-birth mothers reported greater commitment, when their female partners had lower testosterone. Together, our findings contribute important new knowledge about the functionality of testosterone in close relationships contexts, including some of the first evidence among sexual minorities.

尽管越来越多的男女同性恋者最终成为父母，但绝大多数关于过渡到父母身份的研究只集中在异性恋样本上。在那些被确认为性少数群体的人中，这种重大的生活转变对生理的影响知之甚少。本研究通过评估25例首次怀孕的女同性恋夫妇（N）的产前睾丸激素与产后护理之间的负相关的类固醇激素与产后结局之间的前瞻性联系，开始弥补文献中的这些空白。 = 50个人）。与以前在异性恋样本中所做的工作一致，这表明较低的睾丸激素可促进伴侣和父母的养育，我们发现，在两个伴侣中，较低的睾丸激素在产前三个月可预测更好的恋爱关系和产后三个月的育儿结果（例如，较高的恋爱关系质量，花更多的时间在婴儿护理上）。也有证据表明两者之间存在联系。例如，当女性伴侣的睾丸激素水平较低时，已出生的母亲报告了更多的过度保护行为，而未生育的母亲报告了更多的过度保护行为。总之，我们的发现为有关亲密关系中睾丸激素功能的重要新知识做出了贡献，其中包括性少数群体中的一些初步证据。