Wednesday, January 1, 2003
Research reveals married men have less testosterone than single counterparts
A story published today by the Washington Post reports that a Harvard research team has found that married men, whether fathers or not, have significantly less testosterone than single men, regardless of age or overall health status.
Anthropology graduate student Peter Gray and his colleagues also found that men who spent lots of time with their wives -- sociologists call this "social investment" and say it indicates a commitment to the marriage -- had even lower testosterone levels than other married men.
Gray suggests that married men don't produce as much testosterone after they shift from dating to parenting roles. "Married men, particularly fathers, are less likely to engage in dominance interaction and aggression," he said. "That means less risk taking, less conflicts or other behaviors that could lead, for example, to death by homicide."
