SYNOPSIS

Objective. Lower baseline testosterone (T) among men is generally associated with more sympathetic and nurturant responses to infant stimuli. The effect of exposure to infant crying on men’s levels of T, however, is not well understood. The present study aimed to measure men’s T responses to high and low levels of infant crying. Design. Changes in fathers’ (n = 18) and non-fathers’ (n = 28) salivary T levels from baseline were measured in response to caring for an infant simulator programmed to cry often (high-demand condition) or infrequently (low-demand condition) during a 20-min caregiving simulation. Results. Men exposed to low-demand conditions exhibited significant T reductions from baseline, whereas men in high-demand conditions exhibited increases in T. Compared to men who displayed decreases in T following the caregiving simulation, men who displayed increases in T provided less sensitive care. Conclusions. Results suggest a potential role of high levels of crying in provoking physiological reactions among men that may set the stage for hostile or aggressive responses. More research is needed to illuminate contextual factors that contribute to men’s variable responses to infant crying.

概要

目的。男性中较低的基线睾丸激素（T）通常与对婴儿刺激的更多同情和营养反应有关。然而，对婴儿哭泣的暴露对男性T水平的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在测量男性对婴儿哭声高低水平的反应。设计。父亲（ n = 18）和非父亲（ n = 28）的唾液T水平相对于基线的变化是根据照顾被编程为经常哭泣（高需求条件）或不频繁哭泣（低需求）的婴儿模拟器的反应而测得的20分钟的护理模拟中）。结果。处于低需求条件下的男性与基线相比，T值显着降低，而处于高需求条件下的男性表现出T升高。与照护模拟后T值降低的男性相比，T升高的男性提供的敏感性降低。结论。结果表明，高水平的哭泣可能在男性中引起生理反应，这可能为敌对或攻击性反应奠定基础。需要更多的研究来阐明有助于男性对婴儿哭泣做出不同反应的情境因素。