Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Horm Behav. 2011 Sep;60(4):353-61. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.07.001. Epub 2011 Jul 13.
We tested first-time fathers with their 22-month old toddlers to determine whether social context variables such as pre-test absence from the child and presence of the mother affected physiological measures associated with paternal responsiveness. Heart rate and blood pressure readings as well as blood samples to determine prolactin, testosterone and cortisol levels were taken before and after the 30-min father-toddler interactions. Fathers were tested on a day when they were away from their child for several hours before testing ('without-child' day) and on another day where they remained with their child throughout the day ('with-child' day). Most measures decreased over the 30-min test period but relative decreases were context-dependent. Men maintained higher prolactin levels when they were away from their children longer before testing on the 'without-child' day. Cortisol levels decreased during both tests and they decreased more on the 'with-child' day for men who had spent more time alone with their toddler before the test. Heart-rate and diastolic (but not systolic) blood pressure decreased more on the 'with-child' day than on the 'without-child' day. Fathers' testosterone levels decreased when their partners were less involved in the interactions. Compared to men with high responsiveness ratings on both days, men whose responsiveness increased after being away from their child on the 'without-child' day maintained higher systolic blood pressure and had a greater decrease in testosterone levels. We conclude that context may be more important in determining fathers' physiological responses to child contact than has previously been appreciated, particularly for some individuals.
我们对首次当父亲的人与他们 22 个月大的幼儿进行了测试，以确定社会环境变量（如测试前父亲离开孩子以及母亲在场）是否会影响与父亲反应能力相关的生理指标。在 30 分钟的父亲-幼儿互动之前和之后，我们测量了心率和血压读数以及血液样本，以确定催乳素、睾丸激素和皮质醇水平。父亲们在离开孩子几个小时后的一天接受测试（“无孩日”），并在另一天整天与孩子在一起（“有孩日”）接受测试。大多数指标在 30 分钟的测试期间下降，但相对下降取决于背景。在“无孩日”测试前，父亲们离开孩子的时间越长，他们的催乳素水平保持得越高。皮质醇水平在两次测试中都下降了，对于在测试前与幼儿单独相处时间较长的男性来说，在“有孩日”下降得更多。心率和舒张压（而非收缩压）在“有孩日”比“无孩日”下降得更多。当他们的伴侣在互动中参与度较低时，父亲们的睾丸激素水平下降。与在两天都有高反应评分的男性相比，在“无孩日”离开孩子后反应能力增强的男性保持较高的收缩压，并且睾丸激素水平下降更多。我们的结论是，与之前的理解相比，环境可能对父亲对孩子接触的生理反应的影响更大，尤其是对某些人而言。
