Abstract
Objectives
Given the paucity of studies focusing on testosterone (T) and adolescent sexuality, and their conflicting findings, we aimed to empirically address two competing conceptualizations of the link between T and sexual behavior in adolescence: (1) the T as sexual motivator and (2) the T as competition-sensitive sexual motivator models.
Methods
The study used data from a longitudinal study of 252 male Croatian adolescents who provided a saliva sample at the final data collection wave (at the age of 18). Applying multivariate statistical procedures, we tested links between salivary T levels and a range of partnered and non-partnered sexual behaviors—partly in retrospect.
Results
Only one significant association emerged—a robust link between T at the age of 18 and the number of lifetime sexual partners. Considering the evidence that multiple sexual partners can enhance male adolescents’ social status, our findings support the T as competition-sensitive sexual motivator model.
Conclusions
Although this study could not distinguish between direct and indirect influences of T on adolescents’ sexuality, it confirmed the value of biopsychosocial approach to adolescent sexuality.
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Notes
In should be noted that the same research team also speculated that the influence of T on adolescent sexual behavior might be relevant exclusively for sexual debut, and not for later sexual expression (Halpern et al. 1993).
This more complex conceptualization of the role of T in human sexuality is compatible with the Challenge Model of the link between T and aggression (see Carré and Archer 2018), which proposes that T increases in response to competitive situations, resulting in higher competitiveness.
Halpern et al. (1998) found more significant associations between salivary T and adolescents’ sexual behavior when using monthly measurements, compared to semiannual.
In the current study, multiple sexual partnerships were strongly associated with reporting casual sex, which may have “masked” the association between T and causal sexual experiences. A recent longitudinal study, for example, found T levels consistently higher among men in casual than committed relationships (Dibble et al. 2017).
In Croatia, parental consent is necessary for all biological testing in minors (persons below 18 years of age). Asking parents for their consent, instead of only informing them about the study, would substantially bias our panel sample.
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Acknowledgements
This work has been fully funded by Croatian Science Foundation (grant number 9221 awarded to the first author). We would like to thank Douglas Granger for his help in designing the biological arm of the study. We also owe a special debt of gratitude to Sari van Anders, for informing our preparations for biological data collection and providing invaluable comments on the manuscript.
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Štulhofer, A., Koletić, G., Landripet, I. et al. Male Adolescents’ Sexual Behavior and the Role of Testosterone. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology 5, 382–395 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-019-00123-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-019-00123-2