A new study, published in the journal Hormones and Behavior, suggests that the testosterone system plays a different role in how mothers and fathers treat their children.

The study of 217 fathers and 124 mothers with two children found that more testosterone variability was linked to higher quality parenting among fathers, while more testosterone variability was linked to lower quality parenting among mothers.

Specifically, more testosterone variability in fathers was linked to more sensitivity and respect of autonomy toward their children. More testosterone variability in mothers was linked to less sensitivity and less respect.

PsyPost interviewed the study’s lead author, Joyce Endendijk of Leiden University, about her research. Read her responses below:

PsyPost: Why were you interested in this topic?

Endendijk: This study was part of a larger study in which we examined whether gender differences in parenting (i.e., differences between mothers and fathers, differences in the parenting of boys and girls) could explain gender differences in children’s social-emotional behavior. In the first years of the project we discovered large differences in mothers’ and fathers’ parenting quality and use of discipline, which made us wonder which factors could underlie these differences. That is why we extended our research to examine biological origins of parenting, such as the parental testosterone system.

What should the average person take away from your study?

First, that the parental testosterone system is an important factor underlying variations in parenting quality for both mother and fathers. Second, not the basal testosterone levels at a given time point, but the variability in the normal diurnal rhythm of testosterone (which is characterized by highest testosterone levels in the morning that decline until the evening) is associated with parenting quality, albeit differently for fathers and for mothers.

For fathers, more diurnal variability in T was associated with more optimal parenting. For mothers, more diurnal variability in T was associated with less optimal parenting. These findings suggest that the T system might act differently in relation to parenting behavior in males and females.

Are there any major caveats? What questions still need to be addressed?

Our cross-sectional design does not allow for conclusions on the direction of effects (i.e., is parenting causing the changes in the testosterone system, or can individual differences in the testosterone system explain variations in parenting). This is a pertinent problem in the literature on testosterone and parenting.

Previous studies have shown that variations in basal testosterone levels can be considered a trait-like feature associated with variations in parental behavior, but at the same time cues associated with marriage, children, child care, or parenting have been found lead to short-term or longer-term fluctuations around this basal T level. More longitudinal and experimental research is necessary to disentangle the direction of effects.

The study, “Diurnal testosterone variability is differentially associated with parenting quality in mothers and fathers,” was co-authored by Elizabeth T. Hallers-Haalboom, Marleen G. Groeneveld, Sheila R. van Berkel, Lotte D. van der Pol, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, and Judi Mesman.