Sex and gender are key to people’s lives, and are the focus of scientific and popular interest and controversy. Sex-related psychological characteristics reflect more than socialization; they are influenced by sex hormones present during sensitive periods of development, particularly androgens that are present prenatally. Studies of females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) show how prenatal androgens affect behavior across the life span; these hormones have large effects on interest and engagement in gendered activities, moderate effects on spatial abilities, and relatively small (or no) effects on gender identity, gender cognitions, and gendered peer involvement. In addition to showing the complexity of androgens’ effects on gendered behavior, studies of females with CAH provide an opportunity to test theories of gender development, gain insight into how nature and nurture work together, and examine mechanisms of development. The implications of this work have often been misunderstood, so we consider what it means—and does not mean—for biology to influence gender-related behavior.

性和性别是人们生活的关键，是科学和大众兴趣和争议的焦点。与性有关的心理特征反映的不仅仅是社会化；它们受到发育敏感时期存在的性激素的影响，尤其是产前存在的雄激素。对先天性肾上腺增生 (CAH) 女性的研究表明，产前雄激素如何影响整个生命周期的行为；这些激素对性别活动的兴趣和参与度有很大影响，对空间能力有中等影响，而对性别认同、性别认知和性别同伴参与的影响相对较小（或没有）。除了显示雄激素对性别行为影响的复杂性外，对患有 CAH 的女性的研究还提供了检验性别发展理论的机会，深入了解先天与后天如何协同工作，并检查发展机制。这项工作的含义经常被误解，因此我们考虑它对生物学影响与性别相关的行为意味着什么——而不是意味着什么。