Testosterone and Fathers’ Parenting Unraveled: Links with the Quantity and Quality of Father-Child Interactions

Abstract

Objective Individual differences in quality of father involvement in caregiving might in part be explained by fathers' testosterone (T) levels. We examined the links between fathers' (n = 32) salivary T levels, amount of time spent with their child (12-30 months of age), type of father-child interaction, and fathers' sensitivity. Methods During two home visits, video observations of father-child interactions were conducted to measure fathers' sensitivity during a challenging and harmonious interaction. Fathers' saliva was collected several times throughout the day on a working day and on the home visit days, including right before and after each father-child interaction. Results Fathers' T secretion throughout the day was lower on home visit days (i.e., days with a higher amount of time spent with their child) than on a working day. For both challenging and harmonious father-child interactions, mean T levels did not differ before and after father-child interactions. However, individual changes in fathers' T levels during the father-child interactions did predict fathers' sensitivity. Specifically, the more T increased during the challenging interaction, or decreased during the harmonious interaction, the more sensitive the father was during that interaction as well as during a subsequent interaction. Conclusions Parenting quality is most optimal when fathers' T system reacts in the expected direction given the context of the father-child interaction, i.e., a T decrease during a harmonious interaction and a T increase during a challenging interaction. Our study underscores the importance of examining the interplay between biology, behavior, and caregiving context in fathers' parenting.

The postnatal testosterone rebound in first‐time fathers and the quality and quantity of paternal care

“…During challenging interactions, de Vries et al. (2019) found that it was those fathers who experienced higher T increases that demonstrated more sensitive paternal care.…”

Fathering behavior, attachment, and engagement in childcare predict testosterone and cortisol

“…However, when de Vries et al. (2019) observed the fathers during two opposing situations, which were designed as a play versus a discipline session (15 min each), T levels did not differ, nor was there a difference in T across Kuo et al. (2016)’s 15 min teaching situation.…”

“…Gettler and colleagues found that Filipino fathers who considered themselves as one of the individuals who had responsibility for taking care of children in the household, and spent 3 hrs or more daily on childcare, had lower T compared to fathers not involved in childcare (Gettler et al., 2011b; Kuzawa et al., 2009). Likewise, T levels in Dutch fathers were lower on days with a greater amount of time spent with the child than on the fathers’ working days (de Vries et al., 2019). In contrast, when fathers were away from their children for several hours (“without‐child” day) as compared to days when they remained with their children (“with‐child” day), T levels for “with‐child” and “without‐child” days did not differ (Storey et al., 2011).…”