Objective Individual differences in quality of father involvement in caregiving might in part be explained by fathers' testosterone (T) levels. We examined the links between fathers' (n = 32) salivary T levels, amount of time spent with their child (12-30 months of age), type of father-child interaction, and fathers' sensitivity. Methods During two home visits, video observations of father-child interactions were conducted to measure fathers' sensitivity during a challenging and harmonious interaction. Fathers' saliva was collected several times throughout the day on a working day and on the home visit days, including right before and after each father-child interaction. Results Fathers' T secretion throughout the day was lower on home visit days (i.e., days with a higher amount of time spent with their child) than on a working day. For both challenging and harmonious father-child interactions, mean T levels did not differ before and after father-child interactions. However, individual changes in fathers' T levels during the father-child interactions did predict fathers' sensitivity. Specifically, the more T increased during the challenging interaction, or decreased during the harmonious interaction, the more sensitive the father was during that interaction as well as during a subsequent interaction. Conclusions Parenting quality is most optimal when fathers' T system reacts in the expected direction given the context of the father-child interaction, i.e., a T decrease during a harmonious interaction and a T increase during a challenging interaction. Our study underscores the importance of examining the interplay between biology, behavior, and caregiving context in fathers' parenting.

中文翻译：

---

睾丸激素和父亲的父母教养方式：与亲子互动的数量和质量的联系

目的父亲参与照料质量的个体差异可能部分由父亲的睾丸激素（T）水平解释。我们研究了父亲（n = 32）的唾液T水平，与孩子（12-30个月大）相处的时间，父子互动的类型以及父亲的敏感性之间的联系。方法在两次家庭访问中，通过视频观察父亲与孩子的互动，以测量父亲在挑战性和和谐互动中的敏感性。全天在工作日和家访日，包括每次父子互动前后，都要收集父亲的唾液数次。结果父亲的全天T分泌量比家庭访问时低（例如，的时间比工作日多。对于具有挑战性和和谐的父子互动，在父子互动前后，平均T水平没有差异。但是，在父子互动过程中，父亲T水平的个体变化确实预示了父亲的敏感性。具体而言，在挑战性互动过程中，T的增加越多，在和谐互动过程中，T的减少越多，父亲在该互动过程中以及随后的互动过程中就越敏感。结论在父子互动的背景下，当父亲的T系统朝着预期的方向做出反应时，即在和谐互动中T降低而在挑战性互动中T升高时，育儿质量是最佳的。