Digit ratio (2D:4D), testosterone, cortisol, aggression, personality and hand-grip strength: Evidence for prenatal effects on strength

Ribeiro, E.; Neave, Nick; Morais, Rosana Nogueiro; Kilduff, Liam P.; Taylor, Suzan R.; Butovskaya, Marina; Fink, Bernhard; Manning, John T.

doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.04.003

Cited by 50 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In addition, the influence of fetal testosterone on brain development is well documented in the literature (Celec, Ostatníková, & Hodosy, ); hence, behavior and personality are thought to be influenced by fetal exposure to sex steroids (Hines, Constantinescu, & Spencer, ; McManus & Bryden, ; Spencer et al, ). In view of this connection between fetal testosterone/estrogen level and brain development thus behavior/personality of stereotypically female and male personality traits is plausible (Manning & Fink, ; Ribeiro et al, ). The present study observed an association between 2d:4d with certain personality traits such as open to new experiences, disorganization, carelessness, revenge planning, and aggression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between second to fourth digit ratio and personality among Indian men

Bagepally

Majumder

Kotadiya

2019

American J Hum Biol

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Objectives To examine the relationship between the personality domains with the second to fourth digit ratio (2d:4d); a prenatal testosterone exposure marker. Methods The 2d:4d for both hands was measured for the Indian male subjects' (n = 994). Ten‐item personality inventory and displaced aggression questionnaire data were collected in a self‐reported proforma in this cross sectional study with a convenient sampling approach. Results The personality traits, namely openness to new experiences, carelessness, and self‐discipline were significantly differed between lower‐half and higher‐half of 2d:4d by median split. The right hand 2d:4d was positively correlated with open to new experiences and negatively correlated with disorganization, carelessness, and revenge planning. The left hand 2d:4d was positively correlated with aggression. On binary logistic regression, openness was positively associated while carelessness was negatively associated with the right hand 2d:4d and self‐discipline trait was negatively associated with the left hand 2d:4d. Conclusion This study affirmed the link between 2d:4d and domains of Big Five personality factors among Indian men and inverse relationship between 2d:4d and more “female” hands in the domains of disorganization, carelessness, and revenge planning even in men, emphasizing the effect of prenatal testosterone exposure on human personality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between second to fourth digit ratio and personality among Indian men

Bagepally

Majumder

Kotadiya

2019

American J Hum Biol

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“…And, low digit ratio is also linked to high levels of performance in females (Hönekopp and Schuster, 2010). These correlations may in part explain the link between low digit ratio and competitive sports (Ribeiro et al, 2016). …”

Section: Digit Ratio and Competitive Sportsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why is digit ratio correlated to sports performance?

Kim¹,

Kim²

2016

J Exerc Rehabil

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Second to fourth digit ratio is the ratio of second to fourth digit length. It has been known that digit ratio is sexually dimorphic in humans, such that males tend to have lower digit ratio (longer fourth digits relative to second digits) than females. Digit ratio is thought to be a biomarker of the balance between fetal testosterone (FT) and fetal estrogen (FE) in a relatively narrow developmental window at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy. On the contrary, the relationships between digit ratio and levels of sex steroids in adults are not clear. Most correlational studies between digit ratio and adult sex steroids have revealed that this association is statistically not significant. However, for many years, a lot of researches showed negative relationships between digit ratio and sports performance such as rugby, surfing, rowing, sprinting, endurance, and hand grip strength. Here, we discuss possible mechanisms about the relationships between digit ratio and sports performance.

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“…This may suggest that strength is a result of sport participation given that TSP late would have been closer in time to participation in this study. Nonetheless, the relationship between HG max and sport participation was clear even without a categorization of sport type, which confirms that strength is an important component of all sport participation and achievement (Fink et al 2006;Ribeiro et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Strength and competitiveness are more strongly predictive of retrospective sport participation than 2D:4D in university-aged women

Vandenborn

Wood

Munroe‐Chandler

et al. 2019

FACETS

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Objective: Females continue to participate in sport at lower rates than males. Girls who participate in sport gain many advantages. Even with programs designed to emphasize participation, some females continue with sport participation while others do not. Given the advantages and controversies surrounding testosterone and female sport, it is possible that testosterone may predispose females toward sport participation. Our objective was to determine if the second to fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio, a proxy for prenatal androgen exposure, correlates with sport participation throughout female adolescence and young adulthood. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of indirect prenatal androgen exposure (i.e., 2D:4D) was completed on 18–30-year-old women ( n = 92) using demographics, anthropometrics, sport-specific behaviour tendencies, and retrospective sport participation. Results: 2D:4D was not significantly correlated with total sport participation (TSP) ( r = −0.065, p = 0.538). Secondary analyses revealed significant correlations between TSP and maximum hand grip ( r = 0.406, p = 0.000) and the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQcomp ( r = 0.513475, p = 0.000), SOQgoal ( r = 0.253, p = 0.015), SOQwin ( r = 0.366, p = 0.000)). Conclusion: Although strength and competitiveness are strongly correlated with female sport participation, the impact of prenatal androgen exposure (i.e., 2D:4D) remains to be determined given its weak and negative association with female sport participation. Given that females participate in sport at lower rates than males, continuing to determine what factors influence sport participation is an important goal.

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Digit ratio (2D:4D), testosterone, cortisol, aggression, personality and hand-grip strength: Evidence for prenatal effects on strength

Cited by 50 publications

References 37 publications

Association between second to fourth digit ratio and personality among Indian men

Association between second to fourth digit ratio and personality among Indian men

Why is digit ratio correlated to sports performance?

Strength and competitiveness are more strongly predictive of retrospective sport participation than 2D:4D in university-aged women

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