Researchers Probe Tie Between Hormones,
Family Relations And Child Development3-26-97
University Park, Pa. --- Four Penn State researchers have been awarded a William T. Grant Foundation grant of $253,318 to explore relations among testosterone, cortisol, children's family relations and behavioral development.
"Testosterone and cortisol are two hormones which hold promise to shed light on linkages between biology, behavior and environments within the context of the family," says Dr. Alan Booth, principal investigator for the study. "Up until now, the influence of testosterone and cortisol on family relations and subsequent child development has been little studied."
Booth's colleagues in this project are Dr. Susan M. McHale and Dr. Ann C. Crouter, both professors of human development and family studies, and Dr. Douglas A. Granger, assistant professor of biobehavioral health and human development.
"Most research on the topic of hormones and behavior has tried to uncover direct links between measures of biological status, such as levels of the hormone, testosterone and individuals' activities, such as their levels of aggression, risk-taking and nurturance," says McHale.
"The goal of our work is to examine how family relationships and experiences affect the way that biological factors manifest themselves," says Booth, professor of sociology and human development.
In one family, for example, aggressive impulses may be moderated or channeled into constructive domains, while in another, aggressive acts may be unchecked and destructive.
"We want to move beyond models of biological determinism to understand how family dynamics alter the expression of biological characteristics," notes Crouter.
They will be able to study such things as the connection between testosterone levels, parental behavior and child development. Also, few studies have focused on why some high testosterone men have stable marriages and some high testosterone women maintain strong, caring relationships with their children.
Granger says, "Similarly, our preliminary studies have revealed that parents' and children's cortisol levels may be linked to parenting behaviors in ways that in turn affect social and emotional development."
The study involves 400 families and entails in-home and telephone interviews of fathers, mothers, pre-pubescent and adolescent children separately. Hormone data will be obtained from saliva samples collected from all four family members on six occasions. Hormone analysis will be conducted by Penn State's Behavioral Endocrinology Laboratory.
The William T. Grant Foundation was established to support research in any medical or social-behavioral scientific discipline on the development of school-age children and adolescents.
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EDITORS: Dr. Booth can be reached at (814) 853-1141, while Dr. McHale can be contacted at (814) 865-1447; Dr. Crouter at (814) 863-0241; and Dr. Granger at (814) 863-8402.
Contacts: Paul Blaum (814) 865-9481 (office) pab15@psu.edu
Vicki Fong (814) 865-9481 (office) vyf1@psu.edu