Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T10:03:52.669Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

GENDER IDEOLOGY, SAME-SEX PEER GROUP AFFILIATION AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TESTOSTERONE AND DOMINANCE IN ADOLESCENT BOYS AND GIRLS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2010

HANS VERMEERSCH ,
GUY T'SJOEN ,
J. M. KAUFMAN ,
J. VINCKE  and
MIEKE VAN HOUTTE
HANS VERMEERSCH
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Ghent, Belgium
GUY T'SJOEN
Affiliation:
Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital Ghent, Belgium
J. M. KAUFMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital Ghent, Belgium
J. VINCKE
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Ghent, Belgium
MIEKE VAN HOUTTE
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Ghent, Belgium
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Although the role of testosterone in the aetiology of social dominance is often suggested, surprisingly few studies have addressed the relationship between sex steroid hormones and dominance as a personality trait. In this paper, the relationship between testosterone and dominance is studied in a sample of adolescent boys and girls, taking into account the moderating role of gender ideology and same-sex peer group orientation. A direct association between free testosterone (FT) and dominance was found in girls but not in boys. In boys, masculine ideology moderated the relationship between FT and dominance, while in girls the relationship between FT and dominance was moderated by same-sex peer group affiliation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , July 2010 , pp. 463 - 475
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baucom, D. H., Besch, P. K. & Callahan, S. (1985) Relation between testosterone concentration, sex-role identity and personality among females. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48(5), 1218–1226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Booth, A., Johnson, D. R., Granger, D. A., Crouter, A. C. & McHale, S. (2003) Testosterone and child and adolescent adjustment: The moderating role of parent–child relationships. Developmental Psychology 39(1), 85–98.Google Scholar
Cairns, R. B. & Cairns, B. D. (1994) Lifelines and Risks: Pathways of Youth in our Time. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Google Scholar
Capaldi, D. M., Dishion, T. J., Stoolmiller, M. & Yoerger, K. (2001) Aggression toward female partners by at-risk young men: The contribution of male adolescent friendships. Developmental Psychology 37(1), 61–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cashdan, E. (1995) Hormones and status in women. Hormones and Behavior 29, 354–366.Google Scholar
Chodorow, N. (1978) The Reproduction of Mothering. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Dabbs, J. M. & Hargrove, M. F. (1997) Age, testosterone, and behavior among female prison inmates. Psychosomatic Medicine 59(5), 477–480.Google Scholar
Drigotas, S. M. & Udry, J. R. (1993) Biosocial models of adolescent problem behavior: Extension to panel design. Social Biology 40(1–2), 1–7.Google ScholarPubMed
Espelage, D. L., Holt, M. K. & Henkel, R. R. (2003) Examination of peer group contextual effects on aggressive behavior during early adolescence. Child Development 74, 205–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feingold, A. (1994) Gender differences in personality – A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 116(3), 429–456.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galambos, N. L., Almeida, D. M. & Petersen, A. C. (1990) Masculinity, femininity and sex role attitudes in early adolescence: Exploring gender intensification. Child Development 61, 1905–1914.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gough, H. G. & Bradley, P. (1996) The California Psychological Inventory Manual. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA, USA.Google Scholar
Harris, J. A. (1999) Review and methodological considerations in research on testosterone and aggression. Aggression and Violent Behavior 4(3), 273–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, J. R. (1995) Where is the child's environment? A group socialization theory of development. Psychological Review 102(3), 458–489.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henry, D., Guerra, N., Huesmann, R., Tolan, P., Vanacker, R. & Eron, L. (2000) Normative influences on aggression in urban elementary school classrooms. American Journal of Community Psychology 28(1), 59–81.Google Scholar
Hill, J. P. & Lynch, M. E. (1983) The intensification of gender-related role expectations during early adolescence. In Brooks-Gunn, J. & Petersen, A. C. (eds) Girls at Puberty: Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 201–228.Google Scholar
Huston, A. C. & Alvarez, M. M. (1990) The socialization context of gender role development in early adolescence. In Montemayor, R., Adams, G. R. & Gullota, T. P. (eds) From Childhood to Adolescence: A Transitional Period? Russell Sage, New York.Google Scholar
Jackson, D. W. & Tein, J. Y. (1998) Adolescents' conceptualization of adult roles: Relationships with age, gender, work goal and maternal employment. Sex roles 38(11–12), 987–1008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jakupcak, M., Lisak, D. & Roemer, L. (2002) The role of masculine ideology and masculine gender role stress in men's perpetration of relationship violence. Psychology of Men and Masculinity 3, 97–106.Google Scholar
Luxen, M. F. (2005) Gender differences in dominance and affiliation during a demanding interaction. Journal of Psychology 139(4), 331–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mahalik, J. R., Morray, E. B., Coonerty-Femiano, A., Ludlow, L. H., Slattery, S. M. & Smiler, A. (2005) Development of the conformity to feminine norms inventory. Sex Roles 52(7–8), 417–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazur, A. & Booth, A. (1998) Testosterone and dominance in men. Behavior and the Brain Sciences 21(3), 353–397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Münster, K., Schmidt, L. & Helm, P. (1992) Length and variation in the menstrual cycle – a cross-sectional study from a Danish county. British Journal of Obstetics and Gynaecology 99(5), 422–429.Google Scholar
O'Neil, J. M., Good, G. E. & Holmes, S. (1995) Fifteen years of theory and research on men's gender role conflict: New paradigms for empirical research. In Levant, R. F. & Pollack, W. S. (eds) A New Psychology of Men. Basic Books, New York, pp. 164–206.Google Scholar
Paulson, S. E., Komin, J. J. & Hill, J. P. (1990) Maternal employment and parent-child relations in families of seventh graders. Journal of Early Adolescence 10, 279–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pleck, J. H., Sonenstein, F. L. & Ku, L. C. (1994) Attitudes towards male roles: A discriminant validity analysis. Sex Roles 30, 481–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raine, A. (2002) Biosocial studies of antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults: A review. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 30(4), 311–326.Google Scholar
Richards, M. H. & Duckett, E. (1994) The relationship of maternal employment to early adolescent daily experience with and without parents. Child Development 65, 225–236.Google Scholar
Rosenfield, S., Vertefuille, J. & McAlpine, D. D. (2000) Gender stratification and mental health: An exploration of dimensions of the self. Social Psychology Quarterly 63(3), 208–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, R., Maughan, B., Worthman, C. M., Costello, E. J. & Angold, A. (2004) Testosterone, antisocial behavior, and social dominance in boys: Pubertal development and biosocial interaction. Biological Psychiatry 55(5), 546–552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaal, B., Tremblay, R. E., Soussignan, R. & Susman, E. J. (1996) Male testosterone linked to high social dominance but low physical aggression in early adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 35(10), 1322–1330.Google Scholar
Sellers, J. G., Mehl, M. R. & Josephs, R. A. (2007) Hormones and personality: Testosterone as a marker of individual differences. Journal of Research in Personality 41, 126–138.Google Scholar
Shulman, S., Laursen, B., Kalman, Z. & Karpovsky, S. (1997) Adolescent intimacy revisited. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 26(5), 597–617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tanner, J. M. (1962) Growth at Adolescence: With a General Consideration of the Effects of Hereditary and Environmental Factors upon Growth and Maturation from Birth to Maturity. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Thompson, E. H. & Pleck, J. H. (1986) The structure of male role norms. American Behavioral Scientist 29(5), 531–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Udry, J. R. (1988) Biological predispositions and social control in adolescent sexual behavior. American Sociological Review 53, 709–722.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Udry, J. R. & Talbert, L. M. (1988) Sex hormone effects on personality at puberty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54(2), 291–295.Google Scholar
Updegraff, K. A., Booth, A. & Thayer, S. M. (2006) The role of family relationship quality and testosterone in adolescents' peer experiences: A biosocial analysis. Social Forces 20(1), 21–29.Google ScholarPubMed
Van Gundy, K. (2002) Gender, the assertion of autonomy and the stress process in young adulthood. Social Psychology Quarterly 65(4), 346–363.Google Scholar
Vermeersch, H., T'Sjoen, G., Kaufman, J. M. &Vincke, J. (2008a) The role of testosterone in aggressive and non-aggressive risk-taking in adolescent boys. Hormones and Behavior 53(3), 463–471.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vermeersch, H., T'Sjoen, G., Kaufman, J. M. &Vincke, J. (2008b) Estradiol, testosterone, differential association and aggressive and non-aggressive risk-taking in adolescent girls. Psychoneuroendocrinology 33(7), 897–908.Google Scholar
Vermeulen, A., Verdonck, L. & Kaufman, J. M. (1999) A critical evaluation of simple methods for the estimation of free testosterone in serum. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 84(10), 3666–3672.Google Scholar
Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M. & Tremblay, R. E. (2000) Influence of deviant friends on delinquency: Searching for moderator variables. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 28(4), 313–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, D. G. (1985) Gender, masculinity–femininity, and emotional intimacy in same-sex friendship. Sex Roles 12(5–6), 587–600.Google Scholar