Testosterone Levels, Empathy May Predict Dad's Parenting Style

Testosterone levels and empathetic tendencies may predict a man's parenting skills, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that when men saw their infants in distress, it lowered their testosterone levels--which can affect sex drive and other health factors.

During the study, researchers examined 175 men whose spouse/partner was pregnant with their second child. The researchers took hormone tests via saliva samples to assess father-infant interaction. Participants were also required to participate in a videotaped activity in which the child was separated from the father for a short period of time and then later reunited with him or her.

As it's common for infants to begin crying during separation, researchers believe that it's when seeing their infant in distress that fathers' empathy and declining testosterone levels shape how they'll respond. For instance, if the father notes the child's crying as a means of communicating distress, he will experience a testosterone drop--giving off a more nurturing response, overall. On the other hand, if a father saw the baby's crying as aggravating or annoying, it may increase testosterone levels--facilitating a negative response.

Researchers also required the completion of a second task, invovling three toys in separate boxes--each with an instruction card. Fathers were asked to "teach the infant to hit each key on a xylophone wih a mallet, push all of the levers on an activity box and hit the shapes on a toy turtle's back," during a five-minute-period, according to researchers. 

Researchers found that men's testosterone levels changed only during the separation period and not during the interaction task. The study authors believe that this has something to do with how many of the men will comfort or soothe the infants when reuinted--which requires a more nuturing affect. Lastly, the study showed that some fathers behaved differently based on the infant's gender. More specifically, fathers with daughters tended to be more sensitive than fathers of boys.

"We are not arguing that universal declines in testosterone will always be associated with 'good fathering,'" said co-author Brenda Volling, lead investigator of the study, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Human Growth and Development. "Perhaps increases in men's testosterone may be necessary to protect the infant from harm in some situations. We are just beginning to understand the complex relations between men's hormones and fathering."

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