Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Behav Genet. 2011 Jul;41(4):533-42. doi: 10.1007/s10519-010-9416-3. Epub 2010 Dec 8.
The aims of this study were to replicate the results of a previous study (Resnick et al. 1993) and to extend them by examining the evidence for prenatal exposure to androgens versus sibling imitation as a potential cause of group differences in levels of sensation seeking. Participants were members of the Australian Twin Registry who had participated in a structured interview study and completed the Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale. Three sets of group comparisons were conducted: (1) the sensation seeking scores of females from same-sex twin pairs (n = 1,947) were compared to females from opposite-sex twin pairs (n = 564), (2) females from same-sex twin pairs without a brother (n = 580) were compared to same-sex females with a close-in-age older brother (n = 300), and (3) same-sex females who had a close-in-age older brother (n = 300) were compared to females from opposite-sex twin pairs (n = 564). Females from opposite-sex twin pairs obtained significantly higher scores than females from same-sex twin pairs on the experience-seeking (d = 0.12) and thrill and adventure seeking (d = 0.10) subscales, but not the boredom susceptibility (d = -0.01) or disinhibition (d < 0.01) subscales of the Sensation-Seeking Scale. The modest effects obtained could not be explained by the psychosocial effect of having a close-in-age brother. Considering these effects alongside the overall sex differences in the Sensation-Seeking Scales of experience-seeking (d = 0.12 vs. d = 0.18) and thrill and adventure-seeking (d = 0.10 vs. d = 0.83) suggests that prenatal androgens may actually play a large role in the sex difference in the personality trait of experience seeking, and a smaller role in thrill and adventure-seeking; there was no evidence from this study that prenatal androgens are important for explaining sex differences in the traits of boredom susceptibility or disinhibition.
本研究旨在复制先前一项研究（Resnick 等人，1993）的结果，并通过检验雄激素产前暴露和兄弟姐妹模仿作为感觉寻求水平群体差异潜在原因的证据来扩展该研究。参与者为澳大利亚双胞胎登记处的成员，他们参加了一项结构化访谈研究并完成了 Zuckerman 感觉寻求量表。进行了三组组间比较：（1）来自同性别双胞胎对的女性（n=1947）的感觉寻求得分与来自异性别双胞胎对的女性（n=564）进行比较；（2）没有哥哥的同性别双胞胎女性（n=580）与年龄相近的亲哥哥的同性别女性（n=300）进行比较；（3）年龄相近的亲哥哥的同性别女性（n=300）与来自异性别双胞胎对的女性（n=564）进行比较。来自异性别双胞胎对的女性在体验寻求（d=0.12）和寻求刺激与冒险（d=0.10）分量表上的得分显著高于同性别双胞胎女性，但在无聊易感性（d=-0.01）和抑制解除（d<0.01）分量表上的得分没有差异。获得的适度效应不能用有年龄相近的哥哥的心理社会效应来解释。考虑到这些效应以及在感觉寻求量表的体验寻求（d=0.12 对 d=0.18）和寻求刺激与冒险（d=0.10 对 d=0.83）方面的总体性别差异，雄激素产前暴露可能实际上在体验寻求的人格特质的性别差异中起着重要作用，在寻求刺激与冒险方面的作用较小；本研究没有证据表明雄激素对解释无聊易感性或抑制解除特质的性别差异很重要。
