Examining the effect of prenatal testosterone and aggression on sporting choice and sporting longevity

Reed, Scott; Meggs, Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.022

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Furthermore, the use of anabolic steroids to enhance athletic performance provides further evidence that androgens are major contributors to the sex differences in athletic performance [ 20 , 21 ]. Prenatal testosterone exposure may also affect subsequent athletic behavior and performance [ 22 – 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple lines of evidence suggest that prenatal testosterone exposure influences not only sports performance but also sports interest and motivation [ 24 , 38 ]. First, the typical childhood play and activity patterns (e.g., rough-and-tumble play) of boys [ 39 , 40 ] are not only positively correlated with prenatal testosterone exposure but also predict their interest in sports as adults [ 41 – 43 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(d) Women that voluntarily chose to participate in the physically demanding combat sports of judo and boxing at a Polish military academy had smaller 2D:4D than those that chose aerobic exercise as their required athletic activity suggesting that the voluntary choice of a contact sport may be influenced by prenatal testosterone exposure [ 78 ]. (e) Male athletes that played contact sports had significantly smaller 2D:4D and higher levels of physical aggression than those that played noncontact sports [ 24 ]. (f) In general, sports with frequent contact between competitors entail greater risks of injury than do non-contact sports.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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College-aged women in the United States that play overhand throwing sports have masculine digit ratios

2018

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Athletic prowess in both males and females is negatively correlated with the ratio between the lengths of the second and fourth fingers (2D:4D), a correlate of prenatal testosterone exposure. Because multiple lines of evidence suggest that prenatal testosterone exposure is associated with sports interest, motivation, and athletic performance we measured the digit ratios of 77 non-athletes, 103 varsity athletes, and 78 club sport athletes to test 8 hypotheses about the relationship between digit ratio and the athletic behavior of college-age women in the USA. Using independent samples t-tests, we found no significant differences between the digit ratios of women that (1) were athletes and non-athletes, (2) were varsity or club sport athletes, (3) had played or were currently playing individual or team sports, (4) played contact and non-contact sports, (5) played sports involving a ball and those that do not, (6) played sports where the outcome was determined by a score or the outcome of direct physical competition or subjectively by judges, or (7) were starters or reserves on their teams. However, women that played overhand throwing sports softball and water polo had significantly smaller digit ratios than did women that played other sports. These differences were not due to scaling effects. The independent samples t-test results were supported by subsequent Monte Carlo bootstrap, Bayesian, Random Forest, and multiple linear regression analyses. We suggest that the organizational consequences of prenatal testosterone exposure may influence the anatomy and physiology of women that leads to success playing overhand throwing sports.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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College-aged women in the United States that play overhand throwing sports have masculine digit ratios

2018

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“…Later, it was also reported in sports requiring physical contact with opponents and persistence, e.g., male and female endurance runners ( Manning and Churchill, 2007 ) and rugby players ( Bennett et al, 2010 ). In combat sports, a negative correlation between the 2D:4D ratio and sport performance was found in sumo wrestlers ( Tamiya et al, 2012 ), boxers ( Reed and Meggs, 2017 ) and male Greco-Roman wrestlers ( Keshavarz et al, 2017 ), but not in male and female wrestlers ( De la Cruz-Sánchez et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been suggested that prenatal androgens affect the developing brain by increasing its sensitivity to testosterone later in life and that the 2D:4D ratio may contribute as a reliable predictor of athletic potential ( Reed and Meggs, 2017 ). High fetal androgen levels promote the development and maintenance of endurance, pace, and speed, good visuospatial abilities, an efficient cardiovascular system, increased selfconfidence, a preference for risk-taking, intensified vigilance, quickened reaction time, and increased aggressiveness, competitiveness and general sporting performance ( Crewther et al, 2015 ; Mailhos et al, 2016 ; Ribeiro et al, 2016b ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Second‐to‐Fourth Digit (2D:4D) Ratio of Male Combat Athletes is Associated with the Choice of Sport

Adamczyk

Safranow

Gajewski

et al. 2021

Journal of Human Kinetics

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The second-to-fourth-digit (2D:4D) ratio has been widely used as a putative marker of prenatal exposure to testosterone in health, behavioral and sport sciences, but it has only been used few times regarding combat athletes. This study involved 200 male elite combat athletes (Olympic wrestling, kickboxing, judo, taekwondo and karate) and 179 males not participating in any sports. The lengths of the index finger (2D) and ring (4D) finger were measured using computer-assisted image analysis (AutoMetric 2.2 software). The 2D:4D ratio of combat athletes was significantly lower than that of the controls. Moreover, a lower 2D:4D ratio was found among wrestlers, judo athletes and kickboxers than in the control group, and a higher 2D:4D ratio was found, but with borderline significance, among karate and taekwondo athletes. Moreover, multivariate analysis adjusted for age showed that judo, Olympic wrestling and kickboxing athletes combined had 2D:4D ratios significantly lower (by 0.035 on average) than those of the rest of the subjects and that karate and taekwondo athletes together had 2D:4D ratios significantly higher (by 0.014 on average) than those of the rest of the subjects. The research results and literature review indicate that knowledge about the functional meaning of the 2D:4D ratio is still too fragmentary and it is too early to use the 2D:4D ratio in the selection of sport talent; however, it may be a useful criteria when screening prospective athletes to be recruited to a team. That is why 2D:4D reference values should be defined for particular sports.

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Aggressives Verhalten

Werth¹,

Seibt²,

Mayer³

2019

Sozialpsychologie – Der Mensch in Sozialen Beziehungen

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Examining the effect of prenatal testosterone and aggression on sporting choice and sporting longevity

Abstract: Examining the effect of prenatal testosterone and aggression on sporting choice and sporting longevity.

Cited by 11 publications

References 29 publications

College-aged women in the United States that play overhand throwing sports have masculine digit ratios

College-aged women in the United States that play overhand throwing sports have masculine digit ratios

The Second‐to‐Fourth Digit (2D:4D) Ratio of Male Combat Athletes is Associated with the Choice of Sport

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